Neo's Time
by shdwmchn
Summary: Set at the end of V2: Neo was defeated by Weiss, who inexplicably saw something special in the mute warrior. Taking Neo captive, Weiss is set on reforming the criminal and turning her into an honest Huntress. Meanwhile, Neo unwittingly forces Weiss to face her hidden desires and come to terms with who she really is. A story of redemption, perhaps... [Weiss / Neo]
1. Prisoner

Chapter 1

Fortunately for Yang, Weiss made short work of her foe and rushed to see how her teammate was doing. On her back and unconscious, Yang was defenseless as the small woman stalked towards her.

"Leave her alone!" Weiss's shriek pulled the small woman's attention away from Yang, most likely saving her teammate's life.

With a crooked smile, the small woman strode up to Weiss, confidence outmatching her diminutive size. Cocking her head to the left and adjusting the grip on her parasol, she took a small step back and waited for the Schnee girl to make a move.

Activating a series of glyphs on the ground, Weiss slid hard at the woman, intent on shoulder-checking her into the wall. With a simple twist and side-step, the small woman easily avoided the attack and pushed Weiss off balance, guiding her into the wall. Seeing her attack miss completely, but unable to stop herself, Weiss jumped at the wall, planted her right foot on it and used her leg to launch herself, rapier at the ready towards the pink-haired woman.

She made a simple twist and step maneuver, which allowed her to again avoid Weiss's attack. Weiss redirected her energy into a front flip, landing in a crouch, and, twisting as fast as she could, lashed her left arm towards her foe. A clang rang out as the parasol deftly blocked Weiss's blade.

Pain shot through her arm. For as delicate as it looked, Weiss was surprised at how sturdy the parasol was as her blade clattered against it. Wielded expertly, the parasol's movements matched Weiss's long-practiced attacks with ease. Using her glyphs to propel her at lightning speed around the battlefield, trying to gain an advantage, Weiss began to feel the tiniest bit of grudging respect for the woman she was locked in combat with.

 _She's really good! The speed of her_ _blocks and counters and dodges are so fast, it's almost as if she can read my mind and knows what I'm going to do before I move._

Weiss's rapier, Myrtenaster, rang out with a metallic clang as it made contact with the parasol, a symphony of battle noises that her opponent orchestrated and conducted with a sense of ease and levity that she had never seen in an opponent before.

Desperately trying for the upper hand, Weiss dropped to a low crouch and whipped her left leg out and spun in a counterclockwise arc to try to sweep her opponent, which she knew would be easy to avoid, so she prepared to follow through on her arc with a waist-level slash of the rapier. In a graceful series of hops and back flips, the small woman nimbly avoided Weiss's leg and weapon. To add insult to the blows' failure to make contact, the small woman effortlessly flipped backwards and landed softly on a crate, daintily crossed her left leg over the right, and raised the now open parasol to her shoulder as if walking to a café in Summer's heat.

 _That cocky little… DOLT!_

Seeing red, Weiss brought Myrtenaster into a ready position and purposefully strode towards the small, seated woman with the cocky smirk on her face. Her opponent tilted her head to the right, carefully appraising Weiss's approach. Suddenly, faster than Weiss could process, there was a gut wrenching pain in her abdomen as she was struck directly in the naval by the parasol and a second shock of pain as her entire body hit the metal floor.

With a twisted smile, turning to look at the supine figure on the ground, the small woman gently twisted the handle of the parasol and unsheathed the blade concealed within. Still smiling, she casually walked towards the injured girl, adjusted her blade, and prepared to end the battle for good. Almost instinctively, as the small woman approached Weiss's feet, Weiss threw her legs apart then scissored them together, her left heel struck the front of the woman's shin while her right instep struck the back of the woman's knee; with a quick twist, Weiss rolled to her left and followed through until she ended on her back and completed the takedown, crumpling the small woman onto her face. Immediately, Weiss scurried up the woman's back and used her right hand to force the woman's face into the floor while using her left to level the tip of Myrtenaster to the back of the woman's neck, directly between two cervical vertebrae in preparation for the kill.

 _No! Killing Grim is one thing, but she's a human. And a talented warrior._

"Please, don't make me do this…" Weiss implored.

The small woman shifted her head slightly under the pressure exerted upon it by Weiss's hand, trying to look into the Ice Princess's blue eyes. She blinked twice and released her grip on her blade and walked both hands up to either side of her head as she extended them straight above her.

"Y-you're really going to surrender?" Disbelief permeated her words.

Wordlessly, the small woman nodded.

"Okay. No funny stuff, either. Got it?"

 _Was it really going to be this easy after that fight?_

Weiss got up off the woman's back and grabbed her under the left arm to hoist her to her feet.

"You're my prisoner now." Weiss's voice shook as she feigned confidence she did not feel.

The small woman nodded again.

Curiosity overtook Weiss as she asked, "Can you speak at all?"

She avoided Weiss's eyes, her own fixed on the floor, and almost imperceptibly shook her head.

"Well. Umm, you're a very good fighter. It would have been a shame and inexcusable waste to have to kill you." Unsure of what else to say, Weiss simply stopped speaking.

 _She's so meek and timid, but fierce and talented. I don't understand this woman. She is a phenomenal fighter, but she's also a criminal – working with that fiend Torchwick. I don't even know if I can have prisoners. Ozpin is probably going to make me turn her over to the Vale Police Department, or General Ironwood. But… I can feel it… She's meant for something more._

"Professor Goodwitch?"

"Weiss! There you are. This is one of Roman's accomplices, I presume?" Glynda inquired as she pushed her always-sliding glasses up, silently sizing up the small woman. "Not the same one I fought the night I met Ruby, though."

"Yes, Ma'am, she is. But…" Weiss hesitated, unsure of how to continue. "Professor, it's just that, she's a very skilled fighter and she has surrendered to me. She seems to have some sense of honor and respects the fact that I defeated her in single combat."

Glynda walked up to the pair and looked down at the small woman, capturing her heterochromatic eyes with her piercing green ones. "You nearly killed two of my students. And now, one of them seems to be hinting that she has something in mind for you other than sending you to the prison you obviously belong in." Goodwitch fixed Weiss with a penetrating gaze and continued, "And what, exactly, do you have in mind for this… criminal, Ms. Schnee?"

"Well. I, ugh…" Weiss struggled to think of something, anything that wouldn't condemn her prisoner to jail or death. "Professor, it's just that, as I understand some history and ideas from novels, sometimes when a foe is defeated, they are honor-bound to work for the one that bested them and attempt, through their good service, to earn their freedom and become a full member of their new society. I think that this woman would adapt to such an honorable captivity and work to prove herself. Maybe even earn the right to attend Beacon to become a Huntress who would uphold the law and safety of Vale's citizens?"

"Hmmm… An intriguing thought, Ms. Schnee." Shifting her gaze to the small woman in Weiss's grip. "And what do you think of that?"

The small woman turned to face Weiss and opened her eyes wide, imploring Weiss to speak for her.

"I, um, I think that she's willing to agree to that." Weiss said with an equal measure of uncertainty and hopefulness.

The small woman smiled at Weiss's words and gently nodded her head.

"Very well, Ms. Schnee. I'll clear this with Professor Ozpin, but from here on out, the securement of this woman is your responsibility."

"I understand, Professor Goodwitch." Weiss said as she looked into the eyes of the small woman she was given custody of. As she tilted her head to the side to appraise her new charge she noticed that the woman's eyes had changed color.


	2. Monster

**Author's Notes:**

Thank you for the follows and favorites after just one short chapter! Honestly, I thought I'd put this up and we'd be somewhere around chapter 20-some-odd before anyone even found this. I truly hope that you all enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed writing it as part of 2015's NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo 2016 starts on 01 November ~ I encourage anyone who has ever thought of writing a novel to give it a shot!

Special thanks to the following firsts: pkmnguy as my first story follower, TitaniumTurtlex as the first to favorite the story, thompson1041 as the first to follow/favorite me as an author, and chaoslabyrinth was the first to post a review.

While I'm at it ~ please feel free to comment / review / or PM me with your thoughts!

Chapter 2

"You do have a name, don't you?" Weiss was growing impatient as the small woman seemed to ignore her while smoothing the covers on the bed. "I mean, you're mute, not deaf, you _dolt_!"

Unsure of how to respond to the girl in white, she continued to absently adjust the blanket of the small bed, wondering how she was supposed to share the tiny sleeping platform with this girl. Weiss made it clear that she still wasn't completely trusting her and said that she would sleep in the girl's bed, between Weiss and the wall so that she couldn't easily sneak out to rejoin _Torchwick_.

 _As if I would…_ Freedom from that element controlling her life was something that she wanted, no, needed, for as long as she could remember. Roman wasn't exactly evil, just an opportunistic criminal, but that Cinder woman ~ who's to say where she would draw the line. _OW!_

A book striking her back snapped her thoughts back to the present as she remained there facing the bed. Tears began to stream down her face. While it has been quite a while since she was beaten for something – always someone else's mistake that was blamed on her – she shuddered to think that this future Huntress was actually as cruel as a criminal.

With a forceful grip on her left shoulder, Weiss spun the woman around to face her. Startled by the tears, she took a step back as her mouth fell open.

"Good evening, team RWBY!" came the voice of the team's leader as she entered the room. Unfortunately, the rest of the team was otherwise occupied, so Ruby walked in on Weiss alone with her prisoner, who was now crying.

Using her speed, Ruby darted towards the small woman and wrapped her up in an inappropriately large hug.

"Is Weiss being mean to you?" Turning to her teammate while holding the softly crying woman, "Weiss ~ you're a monster! She may be a prisoner, but she's still a real, live person with feelings and hope and dreams."

"R-Ruby! I… you know I would never. And take your hands off of her this instant!"

"Weiss!"

"No. Just, no. Stay out of this Ruby."

"Maybe you should tell me why," Ruby caught herself, suddenly realizing that she had no idea what the woman in her arms' name was, " _she_ is crying and you're as red as my hood."

Weiss had turned red. Not from anger at the small woman's ignoring of her. Well, maybe a little from being ignored, but mostly from an irrational feeling gripping her as she saw her prisoner in another girl's arms.

"Ruby, just… Please leave us alone. We need to, umm, talk, ugh, about stuff."

The small woman clasped her hand over her mouth at Weiss's words. Tears began to fall in torrents now as she collapsed from Ruby's arms and on to the bed. Shaking her head side to side as she tried to blink the tears out of her eyes. In her state, she lost control of her eyes and they were changing colors at every blink. From pink to brown to white.

"Hey, no, please." Weiss's face was hot. Shame overtook her emotions now.

Heedless to Ruby's presence, Weiss rushed to her prisoner and took her small face in her hands. As their eyes met, Weiss shuddered inside from the pain and hurt she saw.

"I was just being a _dunce_. Please, I didn't mean to hurt you."

 _This is the way it always is. They hurt you. Then they act remorseful. They tell you that it will never happen again. Until next time. And it will be your fault, like always._ Knowing that she was giving away too many emotions with her eyes shifting colors as rapidly as they were, she clenched them shut and thought mournfully that she went from one abusive situation to another one. The Schnee girl would be just like Cinder was in the beginning, before she was given as a 'gift' to Roman, kind and soothing words, but violent and hurtful in action.

"Ruby, please go away." Weiss begged her. It was bad enough that she hurt someone in her charge; she couldn't handle her teammate, her leader, judging her as well. "Please…"

Placing a hand on the crying woman's shoulder, Ruby spoke to her, "Weiss may want me to leave, but I won't go anywhere if you want me to stay with you."

Turning her head from Weiss's hold, she looked to Ruby and shook her head before looking to Weiss and motioning between the two of them swiftly as she nodded.

"Okay. As long as you're sure." Still hesitant to leave them alone, Ruby didn't immediately move towards the exit.

The small woman reached up and touched Ruby's arm, smiled at her and gently nodded her head before inclining it towards the door.

Ruby took her meaning and strode across the room. Without looking back, as her hand grasped the knob, she spoke to Weiss, "If she's crying again when I get back, or I find out you're not treating her properly, I will tell Goodwitch that you're not fit for this charge." Ruby then slipped through the door and slammed it shut.

Weiss sat on the bed next to the small woman and, unsure what else to do, reached out to put her arm around the woman.

Seeing Weiss's arm moving towards her, unsure if she meant to strike out, the prisoner scooted into the corner created by the bed and walls. Grabbing a pillow, she shielded herself in the corner, knowing that it wouldn't be enough to protect herself from the Huntress in training.

Weiss stopped dead and looked in awe at the violently shaking, crying woman, desperately clinging to the pillow, terrified. Suddenly, Weiss understood what was happening. Weiss knew the small woman's fear.

"I'm not a monster." Weiss began. "My childhood was, very difficult. My father flew into these rages because of, well, a large variety of reasons, including the assassination of board members, hijacked shipments, and attacks on family members. He kept me inside the compound to protect me from the outside, but it didn't protect me from him."

Carefully looking at the Schnee girl from behind her shield, she blinked and both eyes went white. She saw Weiss staring at the ground, fists on her lap, knuckles white, and her shoulders shaking almost imperceptibly. For her power, wealth, and name, she was still a scared little girl, hiding the truth about her past.

Setting the pillow aside, and tentatively placing her right hand on Weiss's left shoulder, she slipped out of the bed and made her way to the desk Weiss was at when she threw the book. Finding some paper and a pen, the small woman scribbled a handful of words and returned to the bed. Sitting next to the Schnee girl, she placed her left hand on the girl's right knee and handed her the piece of paper.

Shocked at the gentleness of the touch, Weiss didn't dare to move suddenly, afraid of scaring her again. Slowly, she extended her right hand and placed it on the woman's left thigh while reaching for the note with her left. Daring a glance at the small woman's face, she saw that her tears were no longer streaming, and her irises had gone white.

Taking the paper, she read the few words:

I'm Neo. Neopolitan... You're not a monster, Weiss.

I think we've both been victims. Haven't we?

Taking a deep breath, Weiss replied simply, "Yes."

Neo blinked again and both eyes turned pink. She pointed to Weiss then herself, tapped her own chest, over her heart, and pointed to Weiss again.

"You feel what I feel?"

Neo nodded.

"I'm sorry I lashed out at you. This can't be easy for you."

Neo shook her head from side to side. Then, suddenly realizing that Weiss's hand was still on her thigh, became very aware of just how close they were sitting to one another and that her own hand was still on Weiss's knee. Weiss was right. This was not easy for her. And now, she was feeling even more vulnerable than before. She felt Weiss's hand give her a gentle squeeze before softly caressing her leg for a quick second before awkwardly pulling away and jumping off the bed.

"Well, right… Now that I know your name, Neo, I guess we're going to have to discuss plans for the rest of the night. Then we can take tomorrow and Sunday to figure out what we need to do to get you started on your way to becoming a proper Huntress."

Unsure what to say next, Weiss looked towards the door to their bathroom. She really had no idea what they were going to do with the rest of the night or how, exactly, she was going to ensure Neo would become a respectable Huntress.

"First thing's first. I need a shower." _And a few minutes to get my head together_. She smiled weakly at Neo before getting up and slipping into the bathroom to begin her nightly routine, hoping that she could wrap her head around the situation.


	3. Freeze

Chapter 3

Weiss stood hunched over, gripping the sides of the sink as the water ran. Steeling her nerves, she straightened to look at herself in the mirror. _Get it together, you dolt. It's amazing that no one has noticed you leering over Pyrrha all semester, and now you're starting to go all schoolgirl-crush on Neo. A girl, I might add, that recently tried killing Yang. And you! A girl you know nothing at all about. And, a girl who probably just wants to ransom or kill you for being a Schnee._

Weiss cast her eyes down at the running water as her thoughts drifted to her worst-case scenario: _Or worse, destroy Grandfather's name._

With a sigh, Weiss pulled her clothes off, jumped in the shower and turned the cold knob as far as it would go. Most people would have shrieked and jumped into the corner when the icy water hit them, but Weiss refused to flinch. The first time she confessed the way she felt about another girl to Winter, the older girl grabbed her by the wrist, dragged her into the bathroom and roughly tossed her into the shower, fully clothed, and turned on the cold water.

Holding Weiss down she began, "These thoughts are inappropriate, Little Sister. I will not let you ruin Grandfather's name with your… _Sickness_. The next time these stupid thoughts enter your empty little head, sit here until you freeze them out and wash them away." Releasing her grip, Winter glared at her sister and continued, "Now, you are going to stay there under that water until I am convinced that you are no longer harboring such thoughts for that _girl_."

Years later, Weiss's default action whenever she started having feelings for another girl was to jump in the shower and try to freeze out those thoughts. It didn't work. Having taken many such showers, the cold didn't really bother her anymore. There was always another girl. Another girl that would only see her as a Schnee. Another girl that would reject her sick, inappropriate advances. Another girl that would potentially accept her sick advances, only to use those feelings against Weiss to bring down Grandfather's company.

Weiss sighed again.

Hopping out of the shower, she dried herself off, threw on her light blue gown, and wrapped her hair in a clean towel. Gathering her things, she realized that there was still a girl in her bed and she wasted the past twenty minutes by not thinking about what she was going to do with her.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Weiss found that her teammates had returned and were all in various stages of winding down for the night. Walking towards her bed, she saw Neo still mostly dressed and pressed tightly to the wall, her jacket and corset neatly folded and fashioned into a makeshift pillow under her head.

Weiss put her things away and walked towards her bed, stopping short before hopping in. She reached under the bed and grabbed one of the extra pillows she kept there for when she wanted to turn her bed into a warm little nest on those cold, rainy days when she just wanted to drink her tea to warm up and engross herself in her studies.

Slipping into bed, she felt Neo shift and roll over. Weiss tried to genuinely smile at her as she offered up the extra pillow she was holding. Tentatively, Neo took it and fluffed it in her hands a few times before hugging it into her body. Weiss smiled at the cute sight before her as Neo appreciatively laid her head on the much-softer-than-her-corset pillow and pulled their blanket up over them.

Thinking that they just shared a moment of understanding, Weiss felt an unfamiliar pain in her heart as Neo rolled away from her and faced the wall, intent on sleeping. Unsure where that pain came from, Weiss likewise rolled over, turning her back to Neo, and stared at the floor in the space between the room's bunkbeds, trying to think what she was going to do with her prisoner when they woke.


	4. Quartermaster

Chapter 4

Typical for Weiss, the sun was fully up before she began to stir in the morning. The remainder of team RWBY was already up and going about their morning activities. Blake and Yang were likely out sparring a few rounds before having breakfast together. Ruby had Crescent Rose field stripped on her desk, carefully inspecting, cleaning, and oiling every piece. Her headphones barely muffling the music she was listening to.

Neo was already awake and ready to go for the day, her corset and jacket on, sitting at the desk next to Ruby, watching the young girl work. _Well, some job you did making sure she couldn't sneak away in the middle of the night._ Weiss thought to herself. _Maybe I'll just tie her to the bed tonight._ She felt her cheeks go warm and flush at that thought.

Weiss moved as quickly as she could this early in the day to get ready and start thinking about what needed to be done before Monday rolled around. After a mere forty-five minutes, a new morning record for Weiss, as noted by Ruby, she told Neo that they should head to the cafeteria if they wanted brekkers before heading out for the day.

Nodding eagerly, Neo winked at Weiss and pointed to her stomach before holding her hands out, palms up, like an empty bowl.

Leaving Ruby to her maintenance tasks, Weiss lead Neo through their dorm, pointing out the rooms various other teams were assigned to.

Walking across the courtyard, Weiss realized that Neo might make the same mistakes she did during her first week on campus.

"Now, you have to pay close attention to where you are. Not many of us really lock our doors all the time and every single floor is set up exactly the same. And if you come in through the back, you're on the ground level, not the first floor that the main entrance puts you on."

Neo cocked her head to the right and her eyes alternated colors, one pink, one brown.

"So you can understand how easy it is to make a mistake as to what floor you're on after walking up five flights of stairs, going to 'your' room and accidentally walking in on Coco… Well, you get the picture."

Eyes now both pink and wide open, Neo motioned for Weiss to continue, as it was obvious the story was just getting good.

"Maybe another time, the cafeteria is right here."

Dropping her head and slumping her shoulders, Neo exaggerated her disappointment in not hearing the rest of the story.

The great hall was fairly empty as they entered. Some students came in quite early, much like a normal class day, while others like Weiss, preferred to sleep in and miss the early rush. "Okay, so, one of the nice parts about the weekend is the breakfast burrito bar and the omelet station," Weiss began, pointing to each in turn, "And then there's the smoothie station, which is open during the week as well, and the regular buffet. Grab whatever you'd like and we'll meet up at that table over there with Pyrrha and Nora." she finished as she pointed to the two redheads across the dining hall.

After gathering up a couple of plates, each loaded with a hefty pile of food, Neo made her way to the table with the Amazon and the cute little redhead Weiss pointed to. But Weiss wasn't there yet. Apprehensively, Neo approached the two girls and gestured to the seat next to the Amazon.

Smiling widely, the two girls welcomed her to their table. "Howdy, Stranger! You're just in time to hear all about the boatloads of Lien Ren and I made selling Ursa-skin rugs."

"Now, Nora…" Pyrrha began.

"So there I was…" Nora jumped right into her story, paying no heed to Pyrrha.

Turning to Neo, Pyrrha introduced herself, "Hello again! I'm Pyrrha Nikos and this little ball of babbling energy is Nora Valkyrie. Don't feel too bad if you miss part, or all, of this story. You'll hear it again, I'm sure." Pyrrha rolled her eyes as Nora continued on.

Neo smiled and placed her hands on her chest and bowed her head slightly by way of saying 'thank-you'.

Pyrrha continued, "So, you must be the skilled warrior Weiss fought and defeated? You must have some impressive skills if she then managed to convince Goodwitch to let stay here and train rather than turn over to the local authorities?"

The mention of her rare defeat struck Neo like a blow and almost threatened to sap her appetite. Neo hung her head and slouched over her plates, staring blankly at them.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean any disrespect. Weiss is a very skilled Huntress in training, there's no shame in a defeat at her hands. You're in good company, Weiss and Ruby have beaten Jaune and me more than once in combat class."

"I'm starting to think that only happened because you let us win, to spare Ruby's feelings, Pyrrha."

"Why Weiss, you know I would never do that!" Pyrrha leaned back and placed a hand over her mouth in mock shock at the playful accusation.

"So I see you guys have met…" Weiss looked over to Nora, animatedly telling her story, "Wait, is she seriously telling the Ursa-skin rugs story AGAIN?"

"Yet again, I'm afraid."

"Guhhh! Neo, grab your plates. Pyrrha, good luck." Weiss took Neo's upper arm and gave her a tug to indicate that they were moving.

Neo looked between Nora and Pyrrha, smiled and got up to follow Weiss.

The two girls claimed an empty table and dove into their food. Neo was famished. It had been nearly two days since she last ate. And in that time, she fought the blonde girl – Yang, was subsequently defeated by Weiss, and since taken 'prisoner'. Though, to be fair, being a prisoner here didn't seem like it was going to be that bad, especially with this much food available.

Weiss was a little disgusted at the scene before her, watching Neo devour the piles of food, so she held off speaking until the small woman took a break from shoveling food into her face.

"Well, now that you're well-nourished, we actually have a lot to do today. First, we need to get you some uniforms, your books, and supplied for classes. Then, we're going to have to pick up some essentials for you in downtown Vale."

After bussing their plates, grabbing some snack bars, and filling up their water bottles, Weiss led Neo to the Quartermaster's building to begin the process of acquiring the necessities for Beacon classwork.

The Quartermaster's building was fairly large and well equipped. Weiss explained that the front of the building, with the uniform shop and supply depot was only a small fraction of what was within. There were also various professionally staffed armory rooms that customized weapons, created and tested new Dust rounds, as well as work areas for students to use for maintaining their weapons and attempting their own customizations.

One of the bubbly work-study students welcomed them into the uniform shop and led them over to the ladies side of the room. Sizing Neo up, the girl began shuffling through the racks. Pulling out a pile of skirts "These are going to be the smallest size we have, and they'll probably still need some tailoring." She brought them over to the blouses and vests and pulled out a few before walking over to the jackets. Picking out a couple, she held each in turn up to Neo's chest before deciding on one. "Okay, the fitting rooms are in the back. I'll send over the tailor to help you out while I pick out your accessories. Do you want leggings or socks to wear with your skirts?"

A bit overwhelmed by this girl's pace, Neo sheepishly shrugged.

"I'll grab some of each. Options are nice." The girl pointed to a table near the fitting room, "I'll meet you there when you're finished with the tailor's measurements."

Fortunately for Neo, since everything would need to be cut to the same size, the tailor only had Neo try on one outfit, saying he could take all the measurements needed from fitting that one properly. Handing the girls a slip, he told them that he would have a few ready for pickup on Monday morning, so Neo would have appropriate classroom attire, and that the rest would be finished in the evening after their classes.

The girl bagged up Neo's leggings, socks, and, to Weiss's pleasure, the neckties Neo had chosen over the crossovers. "Have a good weekend, ladies." She smiled warmly at the pair as she passed the bag across the counter.

"Thank you. You as well!" Weiss replied for both of them.

Their next destination was the next door over, the bookstore. Ticking off the items they were going to need on her fingers, Weiss began, "Okay. You're going to need books for history with Oobleck, Grim anatomy for Port, Goodwitch doesn't really give us readings – it's more of a 'trial by fire' kind of class, and a current affairs text, kingdom newspaper subscription, and a subscription from one of the other kingdoms for Ozpin's class."

Weiss maneuvered through the aisles with practiced ease and handed more and more books to Neo, which piled up in her arms before they even made it halfway through the store. Neo suddenly began to feel overwhelmed again and started questioning what she was even doing here. Setting the books down, she grabbed Weiss's sleeve and tugged it to get her attention.

Having gotten it, Neo shifted her eyes rapidly between the accumulated books and Weiss, then she pointed to herself, shook her head and pointed to it, and then gestured towards Weiss.

"You're worried you don't know as much as the rest of us to make it through classes?"

Neo nodded.

"Well, you don't. You're coming in midway through the semester and you're going to have a lot of catching up to do." She paused briefly and looked at her charge. "Don't tell me you thought this was going to be easy."

Neo rapidly shook her head. _That wasn't it. I don't think it was going to be easy. I just have my own routines. My own little world. For so long. This is all so new. What would happen if I fail? If I disappointed those in power? Those that gave me this generous reprieve from prison. They would realize what a mistake they made. They would punish me. Severely._

Sensing her inner turmoil, Weiss put a hand on Neo's shoulder. "You're fine." She dragged out the last word to take the edge off of it, and tried to give a reassuring smile when the small woman pressed her shoulder into Weiss's touch and looked up to her, but truth be told, she had no idea what would happen if Neo couldn't make it and was a little worried for both of them. "C'mon, let's finish up here, drop everything off in _our_ room, and head into town."


	5. Essentials

Chapter 5

It was a pretty typical early Autumn day in Vale, comfortably warm with a light breeze and a good amount of sunshine, so Weiss decided that enjoying the weather and walking into town would be a good opportunity for them to spend some time together.

Her plan was pretty simple, take Neo into town and hit up the general stores for essentials then take her dress shopping. Weiss knew where she liked to shop, but had a feeling that none of those stores would be to Neo's taste. Fortunately, there was a particularly fashion forward second year in Weiss's contact list, so she tapped out a quick message on her scroll.

* * *

*- Hey, Coco. I'm heading into town to take a friend shopping. Where do you recommend?

*- HA! Tell your 'friend' that Shannel is pretty hip & stylish. Nice to see you finally coming around, Ice Queen. ;-)

* * *

The pair exited Beacon's main gate and started towards the city center.

"Well," Weiss began, "We're going to need to stop at a few different shops. We should probably pick up a pillow or two and maybe an extra blanket just for you. Some toiletries, pajamas, you know, just the basics, really."

Neo halted. Sure, the books and uniforms were covered in the deal of becoming a student at Beacon, but all of these extras? She didn't have any Lien of her own. Everything she needed in the past was either stolen or provided by Cinder or Roman.

Weiss, having realized that Neo was no longer at her side, turned and saw the small woman standing still, looking at the ground and softly shaking her head. Her eyes were alternating between pink and brown with every blink.

"You're not worried that we're going to run into Torchwick, are you?" Weiss asked as she walked back towards her charge.

Neo shook her head 'no' just once. Gaze still towards the ground, her eyes fixed pink and she turned out her dainty, empty pants pockets.

Weiss chuckled at the small woman. "Even if you had Lien, I'd be afraid that you stole them and wouldn't let you use them anyhow. Besides," Weiss paused and flashed a stack of Lien from the little satchel at the small of her back, "You know I'm good for it!" She winked at Neo as she stuffed the Lien back into the satchel and locked it.

Turning away from Neo as soon as she said that, she hoped the small woman didn't see that wink. _Did I seriously just_ wink _at Neo? What is wrong with me_? Weiss chided herself as she resumed walking.

Neo quickly caught up to her and wrapped her hands around Weiss's left bicep and laid her head on Weiss's arm, clearly catching the girl off guard. Quickly, she released her grip and took a step away from Weiss. She then her hands up, palms forward before crossing them over her heart and nodding to Weiss with a meek smile.

"Umm, yeah, I know. You're welcome, Neo. It's umm, well, just." Weiss sputtered, she thought she should say something, but was unsure as to what she should actually say. "I am, you know, responsible for you. It's my _duty_ to make sure you're well taken care of."

Neo took half a step back, almost as if she had been unexpectedly slapped. Hoping the flash of hurt didn't show on her face, she swiftly recovered and continued on their original course.

Weiss, not missing Neo's body language scolded herself. _No, you dolt… Why couldn't you just be nice to her and stop at 'you're welcome, Neo'?_ Head slumped; she followed a step behind Neo as they continued towards the city center.

After several minutes, Weiss lightly touched the back of Neo's right arm, smiled and indicated that they were turning up ahead as they made their way towards the shopping district. "I'm not sure how well you know Vale, but I don't mind playing tour guide. Even if you know your way around."

Nodding at Weiss, Neo made a sweeping motion with her right arm, indicating that the heiress should go ahead and lead the way.

After another twenty minutes of somewhat uncomfortable silence, they arrived at their destination.

They made their way through the shops somewhat quickly, picking up a few necessary items from each. It wasn't long before Weiss realized that Neo seemed more than a little uncomfortable with her making all of the purchases. _No, that's not quite it…_ Weiss sensed that there was more to it than just that, but she couldn't put her finger on it yet.

As the day wore on, the pair finished ticking off the items Weiss identified as 'essentials' for Neo. Pulling out her scroll to check the time, Weiss was relieved to see that it was still pretty early for a Saturday. Checking her messages quickly to make sure she wasn't needed back at Beacon, she immediately saw Coco's message from earlier. A broad smile crossed Weiss's face and she spun to Neo. "Hey, there's actually one more place I'd like to go before we head back."

Neo looked at all of the bags hanging from her hands, filled with more 'essentials' than she had to her name in years, then nodded to Weiss, careful to avoid catching her eyes. _What more could I possibly need? Weiss has already spent so much on this stuff. She_ has _to be trying to buy me off._ They walked a few blocks and Neo started to notice that the shops were beginning to take on a much more expensive flair. Weiss stopped in front of Shannel and turned to Neo, who was still studiously avoiding Weiss's eyes.

"Neo. I, umm, well… I would really like to buy you something completely impractical but absurdly nice. I know it can't be easy for you to have had your whole life turned around on its head like this, and, well… I just want you to have something really nice that you can look at and know that you have a friend, someone that will be there to help you through this. Someone that believes in you."

Shocked at Weiss's sudden outpouring, which seemed rather heartfelt, Neo wasn't sure how to react. _I mean, she could still be trying to just buy me off. She seems sincere, I guess?_ Unfortunately for her, the tear trickling down her face gave her feelings away. _Cinder was nice as well, sometimes. Mostly when she needed a 'problem' handled. Or after beating me for something I allegedly did._ _Roman tried buying me off a few times as well. Probably thought I wouldn't do my job if he didn't. And now Weiss. Probably trying to buy my loyalty. Typical of the wealthy ones. Just buy out your problems. Probably just an empty apology after hurting me yesterday._ Neo's tears were flowing much more freely now.

Weiss froze, shocked at Neo's reaction. She had no idea how to respond. Winter would have just walked away from her. Father would tell her to grow up. So, that left her with: "What would Ruby do?" The answer immediately jumped out at her.

Swiftly closing the distance between them, Weiss threw her arms around Neo and hugged her tight. "Now listen to me, silly. I'm going to be the best teammate I can be and, more importantly, the best friend you've ever had. When you're down and crying, I'll be here for you. When you're celebrating, I'll be cheering next to you. When you're scared, I'll be in front of you to help you through." Neo's arms, though weighted with her bags, were flailing underneath Weiss's grip, but the heiress kept a tight hold on her. Finally, Neo stopped flailing. Weiss stepped back and took the small woman's shoulders in her hands and looked at her.

"Hey, please look at me." Weiss implored. "I'd like for us to really see each other." After a moment's hesitation, Neo wiped her tears, looked up to Weiss, and nodded for her to continue.

Weiss was convinced that Neo was going to run away, so she continued as fast as she could, "Look, I'm not good with people. I know you've picked up on that; but I'm really trying here." Weiss sighed deeply before continuing. "We've had some similar experiences even though our lives have been completely different. We haven't known each other long enough for me to really know much about your history, and I worry that I never will know as much as a friend should."

She paused and caught her breath, still hoping that Neo wasn't going to bolt. "This is a strange situation that the Fates have put us in together. But, as a Huntress, I want to help people by making the world a safer and better place. This situation makes me feel like I'm helping someone specifically, _you._ Maybe, by playing a part in your transformation from, well, a less than honorable career, to becoming a Huntress, I can see the world becoming better, at least for you. And if we're able to do this, finish our training together, we'll be two more Huntresses out there. Two more people trying to help others."

Weiss smiled a genuine smile. Honest and heartfelt. "Neopolitan, I want you to succeed. I'm willing to use any resource available to me to make that a reality. While I know you have no reason to trust me, I'm asking that you do, and that you please come to me with anything that you need."

Neo was more than a little shocked at this outpouring. _Was it really possible that this privileged heiress actually cared about my 'success'? She wasn't merely trying to buy me off? She didn't think I was just a charity case to be pitied?_ She saw that the girl's bright blue eyes had a watery shimmer to them, almost as if the emotional speech put her near tears. She seemed heartfelt in everything she said, even though there were some things she said rather poorly. Maybe she really is just bad with people and kind of awkward.

Neo cocked her head to the left and appraised the girl across from her. They were both skilled fighters with varying degrees of trouble in their pasts. After everything she had been through, the losses she suffered, Neo never wanted to be a criminal. Much less end up under the thumb of Cinder or Roman or any of their ilk. She just did what she felt she had to do. Was there really a chance for a fairy-tale ending standing right in front of her?

Neo carefully fixed Weiss's gaze. She saw no sign of deception in those icy eyes. Nodding twice, she dropped her bags and stepped up to Weiss and wrapped her arms around the girl's waist and pulled them together. Weiss affectionately wrapped her arms around Neo's shoulders. Placing one hand on the back of her head, she held Neo close. "I promise you ~ I'm right here for you. Next to you. And in front of you."

With that assurance, Neo felt truly comfortable in Weiss's arms and Weiss relaxed into the feeling them wrapped in each other's embrace.


	6. Dress

Chapter 6

The two women embraced for a few moments. Neo felt comfortable in the girl's arms. _Maybe this could really work. Maybe this little heiress really wants to be friends. Not just a do-gooder trying to save the misguided criminal._

They parted and smiled at one another while awkwardly avoiding extended eye-contact. Each reached for a few bags from the ground and picked up a handful before Weiss flamboyantly bowed and extended an arm towards Shannel, "After you, m'lady."

Neo raised her free hand to her mouth and covered her silent giggle as she passed Weiss and her overly dramatic bow. Gripping the door, she held it for Weiss as she looked inside, trying to figure out what, exactly, she was supposed to do in such a classy establishment.

"Why don't we look at the dresses? I mean, sure, you'll be spending most of your time in your uniforms or combat outfits, but you should have something nice to wear for dances or more formal events or," Weiss paused, choosing her next words carefully, "other social engagements."

Nodding her assent, Neo allowed Weiss to lead her towards the dress section, located in the rear-left of the store. As Weiss passed her, Neo couldn't help but notice how perfectly the girl's combat skirt complemented her form and the graceful way she carried herself.

The pair walked around for a while, randomly stopping and picking up dresses, holding them up to each other's bodies. Weiss laughed at some of the ridiculous ones and Neo covered her mouth daintily, her indication of finding humor in something. Clearly enjoying their time together, they were more focused by the absurdity of high fashion and just being together than on completing their objective of finding Neo a new dress.

After a while, Neo realized that she wasn't even looking anymore, she just wanted to spend the rest of the evening hanging out with Weiss. But Weiss, determined to find the utterly impractical and perfect gift for Neo, intently scanned the racks and halted when she finally saw a dress that caught her eye.

Weiss reached out and fingered a soft, gorgeous, jade green dress with black embroidery stitching throughout the bodice, which created delicate little paisley patterns throughout. Pulling it off the rack and holding it up to Neo, Weiss was pleased with the modest cut falling to below the woman's knees and the light, airy character of it. Turning the dress around, Weiss immediately loved the corset lacing she saw running up the back. Twirling a finger around the jade ribbon, she imagined cinching Neo's tiny body in the elegant corset lacing.

A warm flush ran up Weiss's neck. "This is absolutely perfect! Why don't you try it on?"

The pair found a sales clerk, who, to Weiss's dismay, told Neo that she'd help her lace up the back of the dress while she tried it on. Feeling a pang of jealousy, Weiss watched as the clerk followed Neo into the dressing room.

After a few moments, Neo stepped out of the fitting room, holding the garment close, while beaming an incredibly bright smile towards Weiss.

"I take that as you liked it?"

The sales clerk answered for Neo, "She loved it! It fits her perfectly, and, she's going to be turning heads in that dress. She's going to make someone feel very lucky."

"Yes. She will." Weiss curtly replied.

Neo reached a hand out towards Weiss, which she took and laced their fingers together. Smiling at her new friend, Neo tapped her wrist as if wearing a watch.

"Well, I guess it _is_ getting late. Let's pay for this and get out of here." Weiss conceded.

As they exited Shannel, Weiss looked around the streetscape before them and somewhat absently asked, "So, what should we do?"

Neo just gave Weiss's hand a gentle squeeze and, with a light tug, indicated that she was ready to walk around. Weiss let Neo lead her through town. They walked together for a while in the cool night air as Neo led them towards the canal. With its walkways and numerous bridges and the reflected skyline in the water, Weiss let herself think that this would be the perfect place to end their day out before heading back to Beacon.

Neo's mind was in overdrive though. Outwardly, she remained as calm as she could. But, here she was: Walking through town. Holding hands with a beautiful woman. A future Huntress, even. Neo had no intent on hurting her. Stealing from her. Holding her for ransom. _This is so nice. Weiss really wants to be a friend. Maybe, perhaps some day, she could be something more?_ That thought scared Neo. She never dated. A life in crime and being kept on a short leash by Cinder never allowed for it. She thought of some of the things that happened to her. _Well, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to date a man. That's probably a given at this point. Would being with a girl be better?_ THIS _girl? Why not, though? She's the only one that hasn't expected something from me. She seems to be interested in me. Just as I am._ She glanced at Weiss, taking in the Snow Angel's pure beauty under the silvery moonlight. _Don't think like that! She's just doing her duty. Just being a friend. She's an Heiress! The quality of suitors she must have to choose from… Gah! I can't even imagine! Just put the idea out of your head. You're just going to end up disappointed. Hurt. Again._

Meanwhile, oblivious to Neo's inner thoughts, Weiss was simply enjoying their walk. The view along the canals was as beautiful as ever and the silence shared between them was such a nice reprieve from the constant chatter that was the norm with her teammates and classmates. At first, she felt awkward and self-conscious about walking through town holding hands with Neo, but eventually, she convinced herself that Neo was just trying to guide her on their walk since she was unable to speak directions to guide their little excursion.

The night was cooling off quickly, especially compared to earlier in the day, and as a breeze swept over them, Weiss suddenly realized that her little bolero wasn't quite cutting it. She shivered a little shutter, but she didn't want to say anything to Neo and ruin the mood.

Neo suddenly changed up their track, tugging on Weiss's hand, leading them towards the shops on the other side of the trail instead of following it on what seemed to be their original path. Jerked from her original course, Weiss was happy that she was right about why Neo chose to hold her hand.

Feeling the heiress's hand tremble as the girl shivered, Neo was struck with an idea. Shifting course and heading towards the tourist shops, she pulled Weiss towards the stores. Weiss was cold, but for some reason, wasn't saying anything. Walking in, Neo made a line towards the hoodies, most of which were typical tourist fare with Vale or Beacon logos on them. Pondering the selection, Neo assumed that Weiss had at least some Beacon apparel since she went to school there, so she chose a white, full-zip hoodie with "Vale" emblazoned across the chest with the year the city was established in black lettering. Weiss happily paid for the item and Neo put the slightly-too-large-for-her garment on after the cashier removed the tags. The pair returned to the trail and walked a few steps before Neo pointed towards a bench on one of the pedestrian bridges over the canal. As they took a seat, Neo slipped off the hoodie and placed it over Weiss's shoulders.

"You sneaky little pest! I should have known you were up to something." Weiss said. Neo opened her eyes and mouth wide in mock surprise by way of reply. She smiled knowingly at Weiss as she took the girl's right hand, enveloping it in both of hers, and laid her head on Weiss's right shoulder.

Sparing a quick glance down at the small woman leaning against her, Weiss smiled at her sudden show of trust. _Maybe this is really going to work._

Neo closed her eyes for a moment, allowing herself to enjoy the stillness of the night and feeling the warmth in the girl's hand as she rested against Weiss. _I can't screw this up._ Squeezing the Heiress's hand, _Thank you, Weiss. I won't mess this up. I promise._

* * *

A/N:

Thanks for reading along so far! 15 Favs & 35 Follows ~ I'm amazed at your support for this piece and a relatively hidden ship. A submarine, if you will.

I really hope y'ins like this chapter. I spent a few hours revising and rewriting its original 900 words, addressing some issues that would have caused continuity problems later on, and generally, filled out this chapter to over 1400 words so it didn't seem as 'bare' as it was originally.

Wishing you the best and I hope you enjoy my little version of Remnant.

~shdwmchn


	7. Drool

Chapter 7

"We should probably start heading back to Beacon sometime soon." Weiss said as she gave Neo a gentle shake. Much to her surprise, Neo had drifted off on her shoulder and, while not completely sure, thought that Neo may very well have drooled on her shoulder as well.

With a start, Neo woke as Weiss shook her and quickly covered her face to wipe the tendrils of saliva from the corner of her mouth. _Great impression you're making! Drooling all over this girl. Quite literally._ Sparing a glance at Weiss, she didn't think that the heiress had noticed yet. _Mission accomplished! Drool hidden._ Seeing Weiss's shoulder; she realized the evidence wasn't limited to her face. Neo's mind raced, trying to think of an inconspicuous way to wipe Weiss's shoulder dry. _Well, it may be a risky move… But I have to take it._

Waving to catch Weiss's attention, she pointed at a spot down the canal. As the girl turned to follow Neo's finger, Neo quickly flung herself towards Weiss in what, she hoped, would be seen as just an excited hug. If she timed it correctly, she should be able to draw her hand across Weiss's shoulder and eliminate the evidence.

Weiss, the skilled swordswoman and ever alert, saw the small woman lunge at her and reacted without thinking. Making use of Neo's momentum, she grabbed the woman's outstretched arm, pulled Neo towards a cocked hip, and thrust her hips upward to execute a quick hip-toss, flinging the woman over her body and to the ground.

Neo hit the ground hard enough to knock her breath out of her lungs. Startled from Weiss's quick reaction, it took her a moment to notice the very angry Weiss hovering over her.

"What are you doing!?" Weiss screamed.

Completely mortified, Neo covered her face with one hand. Careful to avoid moving too fast and provoke another defensive move from Weiss, she slowly extended her other hand and pointed to the offending spot on Weiss's shoulder.

"Well, I wasn't going to say anything about you defiling our brand new hoodie…"

Neo covered her face with both hands now and hid herself from the adorable, yet still somewhat angry, girl over her.

"I'm sorry for flipping you but seriously, don't lunge in a threatening manner towards a Huntress!"

Neo uncovered her eyes, leveled her gaze at Weiss, and raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"In training…" Weiss added meekly.

Weiss's delay finishing her statement made Neo smile. As she pushed herself off the ground, still smiling at Weiss, she opened her arms wide towards the girl and tilted her head to the side.

"I take that as you're forgiving me?" Weiss said as she stepped into the small woman's arms, accepting the hug being offered along with the woman's forgiveness.

After a short embrace, Neo stepped back, took a quick look around to make sure they didn't attract any unwanted attention, and inclined her head back in the general direction of Beacon.

Weiss quickly checked the time on her scroll and nodded her assent. Reaching out, she extended her hand and hoped Neo would take it.

Still smiling, Neo enthusiastically accepted the proffered hand and laced her fingers together with Weiss's as they began the trip back to her new home.

* * *

A/N: First up, this is a pretty short chapter. There's a few of them throughout. Unfortunately, I'm ending the week on one of them and leaving you all hanging until Monday. When I write, I try to create chapter breaks where they make the most sense (to me) as I'm moving through the story. The result is that sometimes there's a 2000ish word chapter and other times, there's barely 500 words. It is what it is, I'm afraid...

Thanks for taking the time to Follow / Favorite / Review / or message me! I'm thrilled that there's readers out there enjoying this piece I wrote for fun.

With that ~ Have a great weekend!


	8. Discovered

Chapter 8

Weiss opened the room to their dorm and, with a hand on the small of Neo's back, guided the small woman in. Weiss's head fell slightly, a pang of disappointment hit her as she saw that all three of her teammates were in their room. Sure, it was late and she knew they would be, _but still_ , she hoped there was an outside chance that she could have the rest of the night alone with Neo.

Gently caressing Neo's back, Weiss offered her the opportunity to take her shower first so she could get ready for bed, since she was probably still tired after drifting off while they were out. Neo nodded in agreement.

Ruby offered Neo a set of her pajamas for the night, since she didn't have an opportunity to wash all of her new purchases yet. Even though Ruby was pretty small, her clothes would still be a bit too big for the small woman. _Meh. Even still. It'll be nice to not sleep in these grimy things again._ Neo took the garments from Ruby and smiled appreciatively as she placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. After giving it a gentle squeeze, she went into the bathroom.

As soon as the water began running in the next room, Weiss was surrounded by her teammates.

"Hellll-oooooo! We need to talk." Yang started immediately. "So… How was your date?"

"Wait, what? It wasn't a date. We were shopping for essentials for Neo's time here at Beacon. Just because we went alone doesn't mean we were on a date. I mean, as a Huntress, in training… and as Neo's guardian, it's my duty, my _responsibility_ , to ensure that she's properly kitted out to contribute to our team and has everything that she needs to ensure a successful rehabilitation from her previous life as a criminal. Besides…"

"Yeah," Yang cut her off. "The way you're going on like this is proof of just how into her you obviously are. Besides, that's not your hoodie, so obviously your _date_ was looking out for you."

"Leave her alone, Yang… It's fine if the Ice Queen doesn't want us to know that she's totally going warm for her new friend." Blake chimed in.

"Aww… Weiss! Do you have another crush that's not me?" Ruby poked.

"RUBY! You little _dolt_ , how long have you known?"

The dorm went quiet save for the sound of running water from the next room. Weiss's hands flew to her mouth, clasping it shut as if trying to stop the words she just uttered from spilling out. Three sets of eyes fixed on her. Her mind flew, trying to think of how she was getting out of this one. From Ruby's comments, it was obvious that her crush on her leader wasn't well hidden. But since no one ever said anything, Weiss just assumed it was well hidden; surely someone would have called her out on her deviance had they noticed.

"Since you came back for me during our initiation." Ruby mumbled. "I still don't know how I realized it then, but I just knew that you were into me. At first, I just thought it was some weird physical reaction spurred on by the stress of initiation, but over the last two semesters, I guess… Well, I guess that it just made sense. We were so close and you always acted a little jealous when I spent time alone with anyone else. But, after a while, I realized that you never actually pursued anything with me. So, I started to think that I was reading too much into or imagining it, so I tried to put it out of my head."

"Ruby…"

"Weiss, don't worry. It's okay. I just want you to be happy, even if it's with someone who isn't me. Besides, I'll be fine. I. Drink. Milk!"

"I'm sorry Ruby. I just, well, I ugh, didn't think that… Wait… Why aren't you all screaming at me for harboring such 'unnatural feelings'?"

Her teammates all looked at each other, with varying degrees of confusion.

Weiss was speechless. _After everything Winter had told me? How I needed to bury these feelings. How father could never find out._ This, these feelings, was such a source of immense shame to her. She hid and buried them for years because she thought she was a freak that no one could possibly forgive for harboring such _unnatural_ desires. _How are they being so understanding?_

"Weiss?" Ruby prodded her teammate. "You know that there's nothing wrong with being a lesbian, right? I mean, well, yeah, I've never dated anyone, but I would have gone out with you because we love each other. I mean, obviously we love each other as friends, right? But who knows what could have happened? I never really thought it would matter if my partner ended up being a boy or a girl. Like you…" Ruby looked away from Weiss and dropped her gaze. "I just thought all that mattered was that we were there for each other and enjoyed being together. It wouldn't really matter beyond that."

"Awww! My little sister's so understanding!" Yang shouted as she wrapped up the little redhead in a tight hug.

"Ruby's right, Weiss." Blake began, "Who you fall in love with is between you and them, if you're both happy, nothing else matters."

"You… You really mean it? I mean, you guys don't hate me for being, umm, like this?"

Managing to break out of Yang's iron grip, Ruby walked over to Weiss and gave her one the hardest hugs ever and followed it with a small kiss on the cheek. "You're going to be a great girlfriend, Weiss. No matter who you end up with. Neo's very lucky that you're willing to give her a chance. The two of you should try to spend some time alone tomorrow and talk thro- well, I mean… You know what I mean…" Ruby trailed off, hyper-aware of Neo's muteness and cursing her awkward phrasing.

The team heard the water in the next room shut off. That being their cue that this conversation was over for now, the three girls quickly jumped either into their beds or over to their respective desks and began working. After a few minutes, Neo emerged from the bathroom in Ruby's intolerably cute pajamas. Weiss felt her breath hitch as she saw Neo had folded up the bottom of the black tank top, leaving her abs exposed. Weiss jumped out of her seat, grabbed her shower kit, and careful to avoid touching Neo, skirted past the multi-hued haired woman. As she closed the door, Weiss leaned hard into it and sighed.

Neo walked through the room over to the bed she was sharing with Weiss. She absently smoothed out the blankets as she thought about the evening. _Am I misinterpreting her intentions? She seems so uptight about showing her feelings. I don't know… I can't mess this up, though._ Determined to not mess things up, Neo decided that she would make any affectionate displays in view of Weiss's teammates or classmates. Not until Weiss made it clear that those displays were welcome. _Once the lights went off though… Under the cover of darkness…_ Neo smiled at the thought of cuddling up to her new friend. Resting her head on Weiss's chest. Draping an arm across her. Playing with Weiss's fingers as their digits entwined together. Listening to her breath as the white-haired girl drifted off to sleep.

Neo crawled into bed and nestled into the corner. It was becoming a safe place for her. It would feel even safer and warmer once Weiss returned. _This is so unreal! I'm not hungry. Other than Weiss's one outburst, I'm not afraid of being hurt. This girl seems to just appreciate me for me. Likes me. Wants to be my friend. With out a quid pro quo._ Neo felt genuinely content as she sat there, eyes lazily gazing on the empty space next to her. The space Weiss would soon fill.

Lying down, Neo breathed in the lingering 'Weissness' from the pillow, blankets, and bed. She was content. Patiently waiting. Waiting for Weiss. Coming from the shower, her hair would be down and loose. She would be radiantly beautiful, as always. She would crawl into the same bed as Neo. Under the same blankets. Neo's heart raced at the thought. _How did I merit this girl's affection? Why didn't she kill me the other night?_

Weiss sat in the shower as the water flowed over her. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess as she tried to make sense of the past couple of days, tried to plan for tomorrow, and failed to piece together how Ruby (and everyone, really) suspected her dark secret and knew it to be true – and how they were all, somehow, okay with it. Then her thoughts turned towards Neo. _Gods! She's so beautiful, there's no way she's as inexperienced as me; plus it's not like I know that she's even interested in me, or any other girl, really. Sure, she's a criminal, or was a criminal until quite recently… But that doesn't mean that she's_ that _kind of deviant. Besides, she's probably only hugging me and holding my hand because it's her only way of communicating. She's acting affectionate because she's happy to be away from Torchwick and that Cinder woman. Once the appeal of living a crime-free life has worn off and the hard work of training to become a Huntress sets in, she'll stop acting like this. I mean, really, there's no point in even trying to start something with Neo; there wouldn't even be a start before it completely ended._ And just like that, Weiss convinced herself that there was no way she could act on her feelings and let Neo discover her, hopefully hidden, desires.

Finished drying and dressing herself, Weiss gathered up her items and returned to the bedroom. Her teammates were still studying at their desks or relaxing in their beds. She glanced at her bed and saw Neo's tiny frame under the blankets, clutching Weiss's pillow close to her face. As the bathroom door clicked shut, Neo's eyes shot towards the spot Weiss was standing. She smiled broadly as their eyes connected. Slipping one hand from the blankets, she patted the spot next to her.

 _I'm doomed!_ Weiss thought as she saw the smile coming from the small woman patting a spot for her. Taking her time to replace her shower supplies, Weiss realized that she was stalling from getting into bed for no reason at all. She spun around, dashed to her bed, and slipped under the blankets. Neo's warmth made the bed feel unbelievably pleasant and welcoming.

Despite herself, caught up in the warmth from Neo's smile, Weiss extended the arm that was closest to Neo and softly pat her shoulder and upper chest. Eyes going wide, Neo seemed shocked that her friend was asking for her to cuddle so soon.

Quietly, she scooched against Weiss and rested her head on the girl's offered shoulder. Chancing a bold move, she gently draped her right arm across Weiss's stomach and reached for the girl's left hand. Weiss offered up the sought hand and energetically laced their fingers together. With her other arm, Weiss softly ran her fingers through the woman's multihued hair. Turning her head slightly, her eyes met Neo's.

Neo was smiling contentedly as Weiss looked into her eyes, both of which were now a warm, chocolate brown. As the unrealness of this set in, Neo realized she was actually happy. Her smile broadened a bit at that thought. She felt safe. And protected. And incredibly tired.


	9. Tease

Chapter 9

The sun's light had barely begun to warm team RWBY's room when their door crashed open and an overly energetic Nora bounded in, sing-songing "It's morning, it's morning, it's MORNING! Wake up sleepy-butts!"

Neo, unaccustomed to Nora's traditional Sunday morning wakeup call, leapt like a startled cat, suddenly awake, but very confused. Were she able to, she would have would screeched in terror.

Simultaneously, Yang launched herself from her bunk straight at Nora. Catching the energetic Valkryie with a direct hit in the midsection, the two tumbled out the door together and began to wrestle in the hallway.

Weiss, more tired than annoyed, pawed at Neo and told her to lie back to down. "Those two will be at it for a while. There's earplugs in the nightstand if you want a pair."

Neo was completely on edge and couldn't believe that Weiss could be so nonchalant and suggest going right back to sleep. Nevertheless, she returned to her spot alongside Weiss and wrapped her up into a tight snuggle. Weiss pulled up the blankets and closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth.

Waking up a couple hours later, Weiss noticed that the room was empty and quiet, save for the sound of water running from the shower. Rolling over, she saw that Neo was gone, and a slip of paper lay in her place.

Couldn't fall asleep. Went for a run. Got sweaty. Showering.

~n

 _Well, that solved that mystery._ Weiss stretched and contemplated getting up. She even toyed with the thought of what it would be like to join Neo in the shower. Washing each other's hair. Warm, soapy water covering their bodies. _Wait, what? What are you doing? You don't even know if she likes you. We figured this out last night! She's just happy to be away from her past life. There's no reason, at all, to think that she even likes girls, much less you. Besides, you're supposed to be keeping your eye on her, not trying to, well… Do those types of things with her._

Hearing the water shut off, Weiss decided she should probably start to get ready for the day. She hated doing laundry, but hoped that having Neo's company would make it go a little more swiftly. _Maybe I'll bring my notes so I can help Neo get ready for tomorrow. We can be study buddies!_

Neo walked out of the bathroom and looked around the room. Catching Weiss's eye, she pointed towards one of the empty beds and made a circling motion with her hand that encompassed the room. Weiss shook her head, "No, they were already gone when I woke up."

One corner of her mouth rose in a half-smile as Neo tugged her towel off and walked towards their shared bed. To her delight, Weiss immediately turned red and became flustered, as she looked all around the room, seemingly unable to look at the petite woman. She threw her towel over the back of Weiss's desk chair and retrieved her combat outfit.

Neo looked at the somewhat dirty pile of clothes in her hands and thought that it was going to be nice to have uniforms to wear. Maybe now these will get cleaned more often. It was her only set of clothing, actually. She never had a place to store anything, not that she stayed anywhere for long, anyhow…

Neo glanced at Weiss, but the heiress studiously avoided looking at her. _This will be fun!_ Besides, it was probably going to be rare that they'd have the room to themselves. May as well make the most of the opportunity to enjoy some pants-free time. With her folded combat outfit in hand, she strode over to the bed, tossed the bundle on Weiss's lap, and flopped down next to her friend. Lightly leaning against the nervous heiress, Neo placed a hand between the girl's shoulder blades and started to rub her back.

Weiss make a very unflattering "yeeik!" as she jolted from her seat, and very nearly hit her head on the bunk above as she started. Grinning broadly, Neo rolled her upper body towards Weiss, who was now frozen in place, and wrapped her into a brief hug. _Poor girl. I probably shouldn't torture her. Well, not too much anyhow…_ Pushing herself off of Weiss into a seated position next to her, she noticed that when Weiss made her little jump, she had flung the bundle of clothes and they landed on the ground a few feet in front of Weiss. _Well, maybe I can torture her just a little bit._ With a wicked grin as she stood up, Neo took a single step to position herself directly in front of Weiss with her back to the girl, and slowly bent at the waist to pick up her clothes.

Weiss's mouth was now agape, completely confused about how she felt about the sight before her. _Don't stare, you_ dunce! _You're acting all lecherous; it's going to freak her out. If this is how you act, it's amazing you made it this long without anyone knowing that you're a le…_ "NO! Don't give in to your sick desires!" Winter's voice echoed over her own voice in her head. Weiss buried her face in her hands, shook her head, and tried to get her sister's voice out of her mind. Her teammates told her that Winter was completely wrong about this. _But, why does it still feel so wrong?_

Neo looked back over her shoulder, eager to see what kind of reaction she managed to get out of Weiss. Unfortunately, it wasn't the one she had hoped for. She immediately knew she had gone too far as she saw her friend shaking her head with her face buried in her hands, body racked with silent sobs. As fast as she could, Neo threw on her clothes, spun around, and knelt in front of Weiss. She tentatively reached up and placed her hands on the girl's trembling shoulders, doing what she could to try to comfort Weiss.

Weiss just kept rocking, though. She failed to acknowledge Neo at all. Trying a different tact, Neo sat next to Weiss and placed an arm around her shoulder, holding her close, silently apologizing for what she had done.

Weiss summoned the willpower to pry her face from her hands and face the naked girl next to her, who was no longer naked? She looked into Neo's eyes and saw an expression of immense guilt, shame, and embarrassment. "No, Neo. No… It's, just, no, it wasn't you. I, ugh, no. Just, it was Winter." Weiss was nearly babbling; the normally cool, composed girl was unable to form a complete sentence, much less coherently say what she was trying to say.

Finally, Weiss shut her mouth, took Neo's hand from her shoulder, held it on her lap, and reached for the woman's other hand. She held Neo's small hands in her own and took a deep breath. Then another, as she tried to steady her mind as she would before a battle. She kept her gaze focused deep into Neo's eyes and squeezed the woman's hands tightly as she started to speak more clearly.

"For years, I've hidden my true self. My sister Winter spent many years telling me that my feelings are unnatural, deviant, and unacceptable. But despite her constant admonishment, I think that I… No! I _am_ attracted to women. I've never dated anyone before, but I've just never been interested in dating any men. Ever. But when I spend time getting to know a girl that I feel a little something towards, it just… It becomes a full-on crush and I _know_ I want to try to go out with them. But I can't. Because it's unnatural. Or, so I thought it was." She paused and tried to read Neo's expression.

Neo just smiled. She blinked once. Her eyes went pink. After a short moment, she nodded at Weiss, indicating that she should continue.

"Okay… I can… Neo, I'm a lesbian." Weiss's whole world shattered as she uttered those words. She finally owned it. Freely admitted her darkest secret, unprompted, to someone else. She fell forward onto Neo's shoulder and wept as her emotions overtook her. She wept, in part, for the life she knew she could never return to. This was it. There could be no more denial, no more hiding, this is who she is from here on out.

Pulling her right hand free from Weiss's deathgrip, Neo softly placed her palm on the heiress's cheek. Her thumb deftly wiped the girl's tears before sliding her hand into Weiss's still wet hair and held the back of her head as she cried. Few times in her life had her muteness really bothered her, but, right now, she wished she could say just a couple of words. Tell her "It'll be okay." But she couldn't. So she held the inconsolable girl. She caressed the back of her head. Compassionately ran her fingers through the girl's hair. Let her continue to squeeze her left hand half to death. She brushed Weiss's hair back, away from her ear. Slowly leaning in, she touched her lips to Weiss's earlobe and gave it a soft kiss.

Weiss buried her face in the crook of Neo's neck and kissed it. A warm flush ran through both girls' faces. Not sensing any resistance from Neo, she kissed again. And again. Then moved towards the sharp angle of Neo's jawline. She kissed the small woman there.

Neo saw Weiss's interest and tackled her to the mattress. She took the heiress's wrists and held them to the bed above the girl's head. She straddled her and slowly lowered her body onto Weiss's. She kissed the girl's neck several times. Trailed her kisses up and over her cheek, over her eyelids, placed a couple on the nose, and stopped briefly, hovering over Weiss's mouth.

She wanted to kiss those full lips so much. She felt a puff of air from Weiss's ragged breathing. The girl squirmed underneath her. She wasn't sure if Weiss was uncomfortable from being held down or if this was all too new and too fast. _Don't mess this up! We have plenty of time to let this run its course. This is enough for now._ She felt Weiss arch her back beneath her. Neo inquisitively cocked her head and waited to catch Weiss's eye, but the girl's tightly closed eyelids didn't budge. She leaned down and placed the tiniest kiss on each clamped lid.

She released Weiss's wrists and slipped off of her. She hopped off the bed and stood at Weiss's side, hand extended to Weiss. An offer of her friendship. Neo waited for Weiss to open her eyes. To see a supportive hand outstretched towards her. To see her friend, patiently offering her help to make sense of this together.


	10. Laundry

Chapter 10

After a slow breakfast, the two women briefly returned to their room to gather their clothes and a few other items before making their way to the laundry room. Now, seated in the uncomfortable laundry room chairs as their items were spinning through the sudsy water, the pair leaned close together as Weiss walked Neo through the last couple of weeks' worth of notes from Ooblek's class. Occasionally, Weiss would stop to reference something from the textbook in Neo's lap before she continued. So far as she could tell, the woman followed along pretty well, though it was hard to know for sure with her inablity to say so. From time to time, Neo's eyes would alternate colors as she looked a bit perplexed before they returned to normal as Weiss explained something to her in a different way. Neo would slowly nod at Weiss's words, then more swiftly as the explanation concluded.

 _She's trying so hard to be patient. It doesn't seem like her thing though._ The heiress really didn't really strike her as the teacherly type. Having never been through school before, she already felt a bit overwhelmed. She could barely imagine what it was going to be like attending classes, reading constantly, and writing papers. She looked at the heiress as she continued her explanation of the notes. Weiss was on the hook for her behavior and performance. _No wonder she's trying to get me up to speed already._ Neo didn't want to jeopardize Weiss's future, so she committed herself to doing all she could to become a respectable student. Even so, the information overload was already taking a toll on her. When Weiss paused, Neo tapped her wrist then motioned for a little time.

Weiss agreed that it was a good time for a break and promptly stretched and splayed out in her seat. "These chairs are some of the worst on campus. You'd think for as much time as we have to spend in here doing laundry, they'd spring for something nicer. Maybe Father would consider making a small 'donation' to the Academy?" Weiss trailed off, mumbling the last thought more to her self than fully aloud. She felt Neo's hand on her shoulder and turned to see an inquisitive look on the woman's face and her head cocked slightly to the right. "You're wondering what it's like to be a Schnee? To have the kind of money necessary to make that happen on a whim?" Neo shook her head 'no'. "Wait, Father?" Neo nodded. "No." Weiss began, "I'm sorry Neo, I just have a very complex relationship with my family and would really rather we don't talk about them just yet. Do you think that you could give me some time on this one?"

Neo was saddened that her suspicions that Weiss's relationship with her family was as bad as she thought; the girl deserved better. She nodded her assent, which Weiss graciously accepted. Neo touched Weiss's bicep and traced her fingers downward until her hand rested against the girl's hand. She felt Weiss spread her fingers as she allowed them to interlace with hers. Neo decided to just enjoy the feeling of holding her friend's hand and not press her to talk anymore about this uncomfortable topic.

The two girls sat in silence, as they watched the tumbling laundry through the round, glass windows. _This is nice. Just enjoy it for a little while longer_. She squeezed Weiss's hand after a few moments of watching the hypnotic show. _Not too long, though._ With her free hand, she opened the text on her lap to the table of contents and motioned through it to Weiss.

"Well, Ooblek doesn't exactly go in exact order. He's a little, I guess you'd call him non-linear." Weiss paused to think before continuing, "He knows his history, but he's a little high-strung and a touch overly-excited, so we kind of jump around. A lot." Weiss reached over and flipped to the chapter on the Faunus Wars; it was a topic that Ooblek kept hammering, so it would be a good place to start.

Neo placed a small kiss on the girl's cheek before she turned her focus to the chapter before her, but never let go of Weiss's hand.

Engrossed in the lessons of the past, Neo never heard the wash cycle end; nor did she notice Weiss get up, toss their items in the dryers, or return and reclaim her hand. It barely registered that Weiss's head was on her shoulder and the heiress was softly snoring. _These battles… So much loss of life. Senseless destruction._ Neo realized that much of her life was not so different. _Cinder wasn't much different from these generals and leaders. Strategy, cunning, manipulations – for what? For a little more power? For a plot of land? To push an ideal or agenda? I contributed to this, as an accomplice._ A loud snort caught her attention. She looked towards the sound and saw Weiss was completely out, mouth agape, fast asleep on her shoulder _. Gods! Weiss. How will this girl forgive my past? The part I played in repeating the worst of humanity?_

The increasing volume in the laundry room roused Weiss from her sleep. Neo was still intently reading, the world around her tuned out. Glancing over at their dryers, Weiss saw that they were finished cycling. Sunday's were typically busier in the afternoon, so she was happy they got this out of the way earlier than later. Slipping from her chair, she stretched luxuriously before tapping Neo's arm to get her attention. Though the tapping failed to rouse Neo from her book. As did a subsequent attempt. Finally grabbing her shoulder, she shook Neo hard and called out to her, "Hey! Listen! We need to get our stuff and head out, it's starting to get crowded."

Neo looked up, both eyes were white. She looked around and blinked a few times before they returned to their normal orientation: one pink, one brown. She glanced at the book, took note of her page, and closed it as she stood up, gave Weiss a small squeeze on the shoulder, and walked towards the washing machines they originally placed their clothes in.

"Neo?"

She stopped and turned to Weiss.

"The clothes are in the dryers, I moved them earlier."

Neo shook her head. _What? When did that happen?_ She looked at Weiss while tapping her wrist, confused.

"I moved them while you were reading." She pulled out her scroll, "It's, ugh… 1235! Well, at least I didn't sleep through lunch." Weiss mused. "We better be quick folding our things so we can dump them in our room and run to lunch before the dining hall closes, otherwise we'll have to head into town or wait for dinner."

After they finished folding, the pair quick-stepped, double time, to their room as Weiss tried to make up a little lost time. Weiss suggested that they leave everything on the bed so they could run and grab lunch before it was too late. There would be time later to hang everything and make room for Neo's uniforms before they needed to be picked up in the morning.

To Weiss's satisfaction, the line was non-existent and they were able to quickly load up their trays just before the staff started packing up; almost everyone else had already been in and out.

"Look. There's Yang with Pyrrha and Nora. Let's join them." Weiss lead the way as Neo followed along. They took their seats, Neo between Weiss and Pyrrha on one side with Yang and Nora on the other, and tried to catch up with the conversation.

"No, it's not that, I mean, he's… He seems nice… I just don't quite get what you see."

"He _is_ nice, Yang." Pyrrha corrected. "And that's why I like him. He's nice and doesn't treat me different. He's the reason you guys are my friends."

"Pyrrha," Nora began, "in fairness, he's not the most observant. Maybe you should just be more direct with him. Just tell him that you're dating! Problem solved." The small Valkyrie offered her more direct approach.

"How did that work with Ren?" Pyrrha jabbed back.

Yang tried to contain her laughter as the two JNPR teammates went back and forth. She turned to Weiss, "How's your guys' morning?" She grinned wickedly and winked at the pair. "You guys make use of the privacy we left you earlier? I know I would have!" The last statement came out somewhere between a husky purr and a seductive growl.

Neo glanced down as she felt her cheeks flush and warm. Weiss remained far more composed and cool. She rolled her eyes but didn't bother looking to the blonde, "I certainly see where Ruby got her nature to be a complete _pest_ from."

"Oh, c'mon, Weiss. I'm just saying that I figured for as long as you've been in the closet, you'd start your first day as an out and proud lesbian with and Ice Cream Sandwich. Eh? Guys? Huh?"

Neo was now bright red; she stared at her plate and wished she wasn't the butt of this joke. Weiss seemed to lose her voice as she blushed at Yang's calling her a lesbian, in public. Nora and Pyrrha stopped midsentence, heads turned in unison towards the conversation between Weiss and Yang. Nora lunged across the table, scattering trays as she went, and threw her arms around Weiss. "Now all we have to do is get Jaune to start dating Pyrrha and the last of you uptight little things will finally start to be a little more civil!"

"HEY!" Weiss and Pyrrha shouted together. "Nora!" Pyrrha began, "I am not nearly as uptight as the Ice Queen,"

Weiss interrupted, with another sharp "Hey!" as she tried to wriggle out of the boisterous redhead's grasp.

"I'm sorry, Weiss. And, Nora, dating Jaune is _not_ a 'solution' because there is no 'problem'. Got it?" Pyrrha finished.

"Whatever you say, Pyrrha…"

Weiss finished sloughing Nora off of her and saw Neo was drawn tightly into herself, bright red, and no longer eating. "Neo?"

 _This is humiliating_ , Neo thought to herself. Wide-eyed, she spared a quick glance at her friend, avoiding everyone else at the table. Having never been in an environment like Beacon Academy before, she was unprepared for the open book characteristic that all of their lives seemed to have.

The Amazon was the next to notice Neo's discomfort and placed her arm around the small woman's shoulders. "I'm sorry. You're still new here and probably haven't had an opportunity to see how we really interact with one another. The teasing is really meant to be harmless fun; a form of bonding with fellow comrades-in-arms." Reaching out further, she grabbed Weiss as well and pulled both women to her. "We're so happy for you both! Weiss is a spectacular young woman, and for you to have captured her attention, well, you must be as well." Weiss's arms flapped under Pyrrha's strong grip, as a second JNPR team member was hugging her in as many minutes. Pyrrha paid her no heed as she continued to speak to Neo, "It's really grand that you're going to be a part of our group!"

Squished between the giant Pyrrha and the flailing Weiss, Neo began to feel incredibly claustrophobic. She began to hyperventilate and tremble. _No. No, no, no. This isn't like that. No. Stop it. Don't panic. You're fine. NO. Stop. You're free from Cinder's cage. You're not a prisoner. No. Stop. Breathe. Please don't do this. Weiss cares about you. You're not in danger. Pyrrha is trying to support you. Control. In. Deep. Deep in. Slow out. Control._

Feeling the small woman shaking under her arm, Pyrrha let go and gently pushed Weiss away as she slid to give Neo some room.

"Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked Neo.

Neo remained crunched tightly into herself, shoulders hunched forward, pulled inward, hands tight together and white-knuckled, eyes closed, her breathing deep and hard.

"Neo…" Weiss gently reached out towards her arm, but held back from touching her.

 _What to do? Torn. Bolt? Break down? Still torn. Which? Breathe. Keep breathing. You're okay. Breathe, Neo. You can do this. No one's touching you. You have room. Pyrrha gave you space. She's still close. Supportive. Weiss too. They're here for you. You're going to be okay. Breathe._ Breathing deep, she finally had control. As she opened her eyes, Neo saw four concerned girls around her, though at a safe distance.

Her eyes flashed between colors as she blinked before settling on brown for both. As she turned to Weiss, they both flashed pink before returning to her normal brown and pink combination. She placed her left hand on Weiss's knee as she reached her right out to Pyrrha, inviting her in for a hug.

"I'm sorry, Neo." Pyrrha said, accepting the invitation. The multihued haired girl, tiny against her, released Weiss and wrapped both arms around Pyrrha's waist. The two embraced for a moment before she leaned against Weiss and put her head on the girl's shoulder. _They're good people._ Finally, she turned towards Nora and Yang across from her and opened her arms wide. Nora, ever the model of self-control, dove straight across the table, tackled both Neo and Weiss clear out of their seats.

With an 'ooof!' from Weiss and a dull thud from Neo, Nora landed across the two as she excitedly started chattering. "We're going to be best friends for ever! Pyrrha, Yang, you guys need to get in on this." Nora shouted from the ground.

The four girls laughed as Yang and Pyrrha piled on. Neo, now relaxed, smiled at the show of affection and hid her mouth behind a coy hand as she silently giggled with them.

* * *

A/N: Fortunately, this one's a little longer to help you through the weekend!

Those of you that have been with me since the beginning know that I normally post early in the morning ~ this is a shot at a later update to see what it does to my numbers. If I don't see any real increase (or a drop off), I'll go back to the normal schedule.

Thanks to all of my followers! I hope you're enjoying the ride.

A/N 2: updated 29 October 2016 at 2200Z for continuity / clarity on a few lines. Sorry!


	11. Crush(ed)

Chapter 11

Having accomplished the day's errands and well nourished from a filling dinner, Neo and Weiss returned to their room and absently completed their nightly routines.

Neo was lost in her thoughts. _This is pretty great! Another shower. More clean clothes. New uniforms tomorrow. I can actually wash my combat gear regularly. Breakfast, again! It's amazing to actually be satiated and not hungry._ She thought about going to classes and learning. To be trained in proper combat techniques. To be surrounded by people that could be friends, not mere accomplices. In a few minutes, her friend would join her in their bed again. Maybe they could fall asleep cuddling again, like last night. Neo was amazed that the outwardly cold, icy Schnee girl was as warm and affectionate as she was. _Well, relatively speaking…_ Despite the affection she showed Neo, Weiss was still incredibly reserved. Guarded. Seemed to hide her feelings. On the other hand, Neo thought she might very well be reading too much into the situation. It's not an area she had any experience in, after all. _Who knows, I might be completely wrong. I guess I should just go with it. See what happens._

Weiss wrapped up her shower a few minutes ago, but stayed in the bathroom with her hand on the door. Her heart seemed to be straining to escape her ribcage for as hard as it was beating. Neo was outside that door. On the other side of the room in their bed. _Their_ bed… She hoped Neo would be as affectionate as she was last night. That the tiny woman with the multihued hair would be bold enough to hold her through the night and let Weiss drink in the intoxicating feeling. She chided herself internally. _Gods! You're pathetic, Weiss. Are you really this needy? You're a Schnee._

As she grabbed the doorknob, Weiss mentally prepared herself for onslaught of cuteness that would be coming from her bed. She steeled her nerves and deliberately took her time as she stepped into the bedroom. Yang and Ruby loudly debated over which was the best band in Vale while Blake was in her bunk, curled up with a worn, leatherbound tome. "The Curious Case of…" something that Weiss couldn't read due to the way the Faunus girl held the book. Weiss returned her toiletries to their shelf, pulled out a uniform for tomorrow, and slowly turned towards her bed. Neo was already tucked in. A pair of large, brown eyes peaked out at her from above the upper edge of the comforter.

Neo saw that Weiss was noticeably nervous. She just wanted to throw her arms around the girl and hold her close. Ease her nerves with something a little more pleasant. _No, you're supposed to behave. Remember? Don't pursue anything unless Weiss initiates it_.

Weiss smiled at the beautiful eyes watching her. Neo melted at that bright smile. _Those shining icy eyes. That lithe figure. So weak._ It didn't take much for Neo to want to abandon her pledge.

Weiss lifted the blanket and slithered underneath, as she got comfortable, she rolled onto her back and extended her right arm, inviting Neo to snuggle up to her.

 _That's all the sign I need, right?!_ Neo was giddy at the thought. Her apprehension was obviously misplaced. The way she worried whether her advances were welcome or not. She was so eager for Weiss's cuddles that she nearly knocked the wind out of the poor girl as she slammed her tiny body into hers. She tried, and failed, to contain her excitement at the thought of spending another night in those muscular arms. Neo wrapped her arms tightly around Weiss and hugged with all of her might, careful to only squeeze her half-to-death. Heedless of her prior apprehension, Neo needed to show Weiss how she felt. She gingerly placed her hand over Weiss's heart; taking care to not seem as thought she was going for the heiress's breast, before touching her own chest above her heart.

Weiss's mouth dropped. She didn't think she interpreted the meaning of Neo's gesture correctly, but was panicky at the thought that she might have. They didn't know each other well enough for that admission. Not yet! Maybe not ever…

Sensing her discomfort, Neo jumped out of bed, dashed to Weiss's desk and fumbled for a notebook and pen, scribbled a few words, and returned to bed.

I care about you, Weiss. Your friendship means so much to me, already.

Weiss felt more than a little relieved as she read Neo's note. She stuffed it under the bed and rolled onto her right side to face Neo as she pulled the blanket over their heads.

Whispering as low as she could, "I care about you as well, Neo. And I want to see you succeed. And I think, well, if you're interested, I'd like to give us dating each other a shot…"

Neo's eyes shot wide open and her smile threatened to reach both ears at Weiss's admission. She took both of the girl's hands in hers and held tight. She knew what she had to do next. Neo drew her lips together and quickly licked them so they wouldn't be dry. Weiss, unsure what to do, imitated the girl in front of her. Both women slowly leaned their heads in towards each other. Weiss began to tremble; she couldn't believe she was about to have her first kiss. Neo tilted her head slightly to the left and pressed her lips into Weiss's. She smiled as they parted, enjoying the light taste of Weiss's strawberry chapstick she put on after brushing her teeth. Neo's eyes flashed pink then white before returning to their normal pink/brown state. She wanted that taste again. She leaned in, more confident and assertive this time, and kissed Weiss again. She took Weiss's lower lip between hers and lightly sucked on it. As Weiss pulled back, Neo gave a small nip and smiled at the flinch it elicited.

The two were making slightly more noise than they thought, as they were unaware that the other three girls in the room were suddenly silent. Realization dawned on Ruby as to what was going on less than 10 feet away from her. Tears began running down her cheeks. Yang tried to comfort her little sister and put an arm over her shoulders, but this was too much. As fast as her speed would carry her, Ruby dashed from the room, not caring where she would go, she just had to get away from the girl that she lost. The amazing woman she never even had an opportunity to be with.

Yang sighed and caught Blake's eye. The Faunus girl shrugged.

"Uugh, Weiss," Yang tentatively ventured.

Weiss and Neo froze. "Y-yeah. Yang?"

"We, umm, we all forgot to eat. We won't be back in anything less than, say, an hour. You know; if that's good for you…"

Mortified, Weiss pulled the blanket down below her chin and caught sight of her teammates, except Ruby, who wasn't in the room, heading to the door.

"Okay. Umm, thanks guys."

As Yang reached for the doorknob, she paused, turned back to Weiss, and shot her a wink and a thumbs up as she held the door for Blake.

"Do you think they know?"

Neo grinned wickedly as she licked her lips and slowly nodded her assent.

Weiss was mortified, despite Neo's enthusiastic response. _What if they know that I'm already giving into these desires even though I only just told them last night? What if they thought that we were doing something decidedly less innocent than just kissing? Yang would think so. Where was Ruby? She wasn't in the room when Blake and Yang were leaving. Ruby! How is she going to take this? She seemed a little hurt by the revelation that I might have a thing for Neo, especially since I never pursued anything with her._ Weiss was startled from her reverie by a hesitant hand on her arm. Neo was looking at her inquisitively now, not with the wicked grin she wore a few moments ago.

"I'm sorry Neo, I just got lost in my head for a minute."

Cocking her head to the right, Neo raised an eyebrow.

"It's going to be really weird for me to adapt to the fact that I finally admitted that I'm a lesbian. That people are going to start knowing that. I mean, Ruby seemed to have her suspicions, but no one really knew." Weiss sighed slightly. "Ruby… She thought I was, but she thought that I just wasn't interested in her. And now I'm starting to spend time with you, right in front of her. She's… She's a complete little _dolt_! But, I care so much about her. She's my partner. My team leader. More than anything, Ruby's my friend, and she probably really needs a friend right now. Instead, I'm basically crushing her, aren't I?"

Neo thought about Weiss's concerns and nodded as she acknowledged their merit. But, despite the fact that she didn't really know the girl, Ruby seemed like the kind of person that would want her friends to be happy. Neo tried her best to share her thoughts with Weiss. She pointed to her own head then up to Ruby's bed and touched her heart before gesturing to Weiss and smiling.

Stumbling, "You think Ruby loves my smile?"

Neo wavered her hand before shaking her head no.

"You think Ruby…" Neo hugged herself and tapped her chest. "Cares?" Nodding, Neo made a 'continuing' or 'moving on' gesture before pointing to Weiss and smiled again. "…about my happiness?" Neo nodded thoughtfully.

"She does. She's really a good friend, but I worry that she cares more about others being happy than she does about herself."

Neo scooted over and held her close. Resting her head on Weiss's right shoulder, her left hand traced small circles on the Heiress's back. Neo thought to herself as she tried to comfort her friend, _This is really so much for her to deal with, all at the same time._ She felt bad that Weiss was forced to confront all of these emotions and worries at the same time. But she knew that Weiss wouldn't have to do it alone. She had her other two teammates. Nora and Pyrrha. _And now me_ , Neo realized as she lifted her head to look at Weiss.

Weiss was surprisingly composed and calm. At least outwardly, at any rate. Weiss must have realized that Neo had picked her head up and was watching her because she smiled and lowered her head a little bit.

"Oh, shut up, you little pest!" Weiss laughed.

Covering her mouth in a giggle, Neo swayed and bumped her shoulder into her friend. The two women let their eyes meet as they both reached for the other's hands. Neo glanced towards their pillows and inclined her head back towards them.

Weiss nodded and let Neo get comfortable before she strode over to the wall and flipped the lights off. She joined Neo in bed and ran her fingers through her multicolored hair, "Thank you for being so understanding and supportive, Neo."

Even though Weiss couldn't see her well in the dimly lit room, she still turned up the corners of her mouth and nodded twice. As they resumed their cuddling, Neo placed the softest hint of a kiss at the corner of Weiss's mouth before she buried her head into the crease between her friend's neck and shoulder. _You didn't even know me, and yet you saved me and promised that you'd always be there for me, Weiss… and I'll be here for you. To figure this out. All of it. I'll help you figure out this thing between us. The thing with your leader. I'm here for you._


	12. Held

Chapter 12

Neo and Weiss were fast asleep, snuggled together, long before the rest of Team RWBY arrived back to the room. Blake silently padded into the room, effortlessly hopped up to her bunk, and curled up for the night. Yang's arm was wrapped around Ruby's shoulders; her sister's eyes were red and her cheeks were tear-stained.

The moonlight filtered in through the window and illuminated the cuddling figures just enough for Ruby to see what looked to her like smiles on the happy couple's faces. Tears welled in her eyes again. Yang squeezed the girl tighter as she looked to make sure the door was locked, hoping it would slow her enough so she could grab Ruby before she got out again. But Ruby felt heavy against Yang, under her arm. With a bit of relief, she didn't think her little sister would be running anywhere.

"C'mere, little sis."

Ruby couldn't say anything, she just let Yang lead her to the edge of the brawler's bed. Yang didn't want her to be alone; she knew this was incredibly hard on her.

"Do you want to sleep with me tonight, just like when you were younger and had those… dreams… you used to have?"

Grey eyes clamped tight, as she begged her tears not to fall; Ruby couldn't even nod her assent. She just flopped into the bed and curled into a tight little ball. Yang slumped her shoulders as she pulled off her jacket and boots before lying next to her sister. She held the small girl close, trying to give her some semblance of comfort. Despite her efforts, she felt Ruby's body shake as she failed to fight back her emotions. Yang swore her heart was breaking for her sister over the girl's pain.

Ruby cried through most of the night and only managed to fall asleep due to, what Yang assumed was, sheer exhaustion. Yang did her best to just be there and stay strong for her sister, but it killed her inside.

She started to think how this was all her fault. If only she wasn't beaten by Neo. If she, or Weiss, had just killed the tiny villain. Or at least, if Weiss hadn't, somehow, stopped being 'Ice Queen Weiss' all of a sudden and stayed as cold to this interloper as she had been with Ruby all this time…

Ruby rolled over and latched on to Yang as she mumbled something incomprehensible in her sleep before softly sobbing.

She turned to her right and looked at the sleeping pair across the room. _Great… Obviously the only thing I can do now is to kill at least one of them._ Yang sighed and held Ruby close until she finally fell asleep as well.


	13. Uni

Chapter 13

Weiss woke Neo early so they could head over to the Quartermaster's shop to pick up the uniform that was supposed to be ready for Neo's first day. As they were getting ready, Neo was practically bouncing with excitement, despite the nerves as she prepared to start her new life as a reformed criminal and future Huntress. Sensing her nervous energy, Weiss took Neo's hand and gave it a supportive squeeze as they made for the door while Blake and Yang were going through their morning routines. But, Weiss caught a flash of red and black hair in Yang's bed causing her to pause briefly and look again. She was shocked to see Ruby in Yang's bed and still wearing her combat skirt from the night before.

Weiss's smile drooped into a tight frown as she saw crusty lines from a night of tears covering the girl's cheeks. Releasing Neo's hand, she wrapped her arm around the woman's shoulders and pulled her close as they walked out of the room. She couldn't stop thinking about Ruby and that she was the reason for the girl spending the night in Yang's bed.

As they opened the door to the Quartermaster's shop, the tailor greeted them warmly and said he had been expecting them. Neo's uniform was waiting for her on the counter, tiny patches of fabric that would soon identify her as one of Remnant's own future Huntresses! She reverently picked up the garments and carried them as the tailor guided her towards the fitting rooms. After a couple minutes, she popped out of the fitting room and walked towards the mirror. With a little spin, she looked herself over, front and back, before she turned to Weiss and cocked her head inquisitively.

"You look… in… incredible, Neopolitan."

Neo wrapped the girl into a tight hug as she leapt into Weiss's arms and nuzzled her face into Weiss's neck and planted a long kiss on the crook of her neck. Weiss reluctantly set her tiny charge down as she felt her neck grow warm with embarrassment of the enthusiastic display of affection. Neo clasped her hands in front of her mouth as she turned to the tailor and bowed slightly in his direction.

"You're very welcome, Miss." He smiled at the ecstatic woman. "Since that looks good, I'll finish up the remainder of your uniforms to those measurements. Come back at the end of the day and they'll be ready for you."

Weiss thanked the tailor for Neo and lead the small woman towards the dining hall for breakfast. Not seeing any of their teammates, they took their seats with team JNPR.

"Say, Pyrrha," Weiss had an idea, "Since we don't have Goodwitch's class until Wednesday, do you think that you would be willing to do a little bit of sparring with Neo to help her get used to fighting in class, and, well, you know, not trying to land a killing stroke to finish her opponent off."

"I would be honored to spar with you, Neo." Pyrrha tipped her head towards the woman as she smiled with closed eyes and said so.

"Where's the rest of the gang?" Nora asked.

"Probably on their way? We had to get up early so that Neo could pick up her uniform, so we were out before everyone else." The now familiar feelings of guilt again crept into her as she thought of Ruby curled up in Yang's bed. Her eyes dropped as she thought about her leader and what she thought going on with the girl.

Blake startled Weiss as she sat down her without announcing herself.

"Blake! Stop sneaking around like that. I swear! I'm going to put a bell on you…"

The bow on top of Blake's head twitched slightly as she scowled at Weiss.

"Well, stop sneaking around and I won't have to, Blake Belladonna." Weiss looked around the dining hall, "Where's our fearless leader and Yang?"

Blake ignored the heiress as she turned her attention towards her milk.

"So, Neo. Jaune and I normally practice up on the roof of the dorms, but if you don't want to work out up there, we can make use of the fields next to the central courtyard." Pyrrha offered as she tried to move the conversation back to the enjoyable topic of sparring.

Pointing upwards, Neo nodded.

"That sounds grand! Why don't we head up right after class? We can come back down here when we're done to have lunch and evaluate your performance."

Weiss sighed as she the group gathered their items and started heading out towards class. _Still no Ruby or Yang… I mean, it's not unusual for Yang to skip breakfast ~ she'd rather have the extra time to sleep; but Ruby never passes up an opportunity to pick up a few extra cookies to sneak into class_. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but Weiss knew why Ruby wasn't there. She hurt her friend. Her leader felt rejected. She crushed the poor girl.

Before taking their seats, Weiss introduced Neo to Professor (Doctor) Oobleck, who said that Ozpin had already informed all of the teachers that the small former criminal would be joining their lessons starting today.

"I tried to help catch her up to where we are this semester, Doctor. I'm sure she'll be up to speed in no time!"

"I'm sure you're right, Miss Schnee." He turned towards Neo, "If you'd like to speak with me about anything you're not understanding, Neopolitan, please do not hesitate to ask."

As they took their seats, Neo once again started feeling anxious. She practically bounced in her seat as she waited for the upcoming opportunity to learn something new and, more so thanks to Weiss's descriptions of their professor's teaching style, to see Doctor Oobleck's high-energy display and he dashed from point to point around the room.

 _How does he talk so fast? He's more hyper than Ruby and Yang together._ Neo thought as she rubbed her aching hand. A life of crime entailed far less writing than this, and yet, they were barely – she tapped on Weiss's scroll to see the time – half way through it.

Regardless of her pained hand though, she was fascinated by Oobleck's passion for the history of the Faunus wars. A long history with countless details she wasn't aware of. As she listed to the disheveled man, she couldn't grasp how the White Fang ever agreed to work with Cinder and Torchwick, given the rather unpleasant history between the Faunus and humans.

Neo tried her best to reconcile the lessons from the past Oobleck was lecturing on with the things that she has lived through. Her mind began wandering from memory to memory as she tried to piece the story together, and before she knew it, the bell rang and class was over. _Wow! There's so much to learn and remember. The time went by so fast. I just hope that it's always this interesting._

She softly ruffled Weiss's white hair as she dashed past and ran up to Pyrrha. A few feet away, she launched herself at the Amazon and threw her arms and legs around the redhead. Clinging to the muscular warrior, she gave her a pleading, imploring look.

Pyrrha laughed. "Oh, Neo. Were you worried that I was going to take off and forget about our sparring match?"

Neo nodded her head enthusiastically. Pyrrha chuckled at that, until she looked over Neo's shoulder and saw the furious look on Weiss's face as the Ice Queen marched towards them.

"NEO! What are you doing, you little _dunce_?"

Neo released her arms as she squeezed her legs tighter around Pyrrha's midsection and let her body fall backwards so she was hanging upside down from Pyrrha's waist. She smiled innocently at Weiss's obvious jealousy.

"Wha- You infuriating…"

"Weiss. There's really no reason to overreact like this. She's not bothering me. Really, I'm surprised this isn't Ruby's normal greeting for me!" Pyrrha looked around, "Speaking of which, where is Ruby? I didn't see her in class today."

"Oh, yeah… She's, umm, not feeling well." Yang shifted nervously and studiously avoided Weiss. "I told her that it was probably best for her to stay in bed. Actually, it's probably time for me to go check on her."

Neo put her hands on the ground and did a handspring flip, landing between Yang and Weiss. She wasn't completely sure what was going on. But, thought she might need to keep an eye on things.

Want me to come with you?" Blake said as she caught Yang's hand.

"No. It's all right. Why don't you hang out with Weiss, Neo, Pyrrha, and Nora and spar with them for me. I'm totally bummed I'm not going to be able to put a beat down on you guys!" Yang laughed as she turned towards the dorm.

Laughing, Pyrrha shouted after Yang, "I'll try not to beat up your teammates too much!"

Yang raised her arm and dismissively waved Pyrrha off.

The women were all laughing, except a serious-looking Weiss and a concerned Neo, who was watching Weiss hold some thing back. Neo reached for Weiss and put a calming hand on her shoulder. Tilting her head down, she gently shook it 'no' just once.

Weiss's mind was racing. _Is Neo telling me that she knows why Ruby was upset and it isn't my fault? Does she even know? Is that why she's acting like this towards Pyrrha? But she's still comforting me._ She pressed her lips together into a tight line and chanced a look at Neo. The tiny woman flashed her eyes pink just once before they returned to her normal pink and brown combination.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the late upload ~ meetings all day and working on NaNoWriMo again. Bear with me through November ~ the editing cuts into my writing time, so I might be a little late with some of the chapters. As always ~ thanks for the Follows / Favorites / Reviews and your messages! Have a great weekend and get ready for another fight scene! I know you've been waiting for it :-)

Best,

~shdwmchn


	14. Sparring

Chapter 14

As Weiss's rapier, Myrtenaster, clanged off of Pyrrha's shield, it sent a shockwave down the heiress's arm. Her aura was reading low on her scroll. At the last second, she activated a glyph and slid away from the Amazon as Nora's hammer, Magnhild, obliterated the ground upon which she was just standing.

Neo's aura fared slightly better than Weiss's, but not by much. Her parasol was getting run through its paces as a shield, but she was having a hard time getting close enough to her opponents. The reach on Magnhild was incredible and the Amazon was north of six-feet tall. She thought she would have little problem dispatching either once she could get inside the girls' effective range, but she was taking a hellacious pounding until she could.

Bounding out of reach of Nora's follow up from her swing at Weiss, Neo landed directly in front of Weiss, back against the girl's chest. She's breathing heard. The JNPR fighters are taking their toll. Neo felt a breath against her ear. _Weiss! This is hardly the time for that_! she thought, enraged.

"Nora's going to come in hard and try to hit us both. I'll throw a glyph to block and take the impact, but you'll need to read the swing and slip past the glyph to strike."

Neo acknowledged Weiss's plan by closing her parasol and resting it on her shoulder as she arrogantly bowed to Nora. The angrier the girl was, the more likely she would over-commit and be unable to recover.

As expected, the enraged Valkyrie charged in as she shrieked "NORA SMASH!" The energetic redhead wound up for a killing shot coming in parallel to the ground from Neo and Weiss's left. Weiss threw a repulsion glyph and braced Myrtenaster in a defensive pose in case the glyph failed. Neo rolled to the left and sprung up like a cat inside of Nora's swing as it crashed against the glyph. Catching the Valkyrie in the throat with the parasol, Neo held it with her left arm as she swung herself behind Nora, wrapped her left leg around the girl's waist and grabbed the other end of the parasol with her right hand. Planting her right foot in the small of Nora's back, the small woman wrenched back with all of her might and pulled her already off-balanced attacker towards the ground.

Nora couldn't fight either the weight pulling her backwards or the rigid parasol against her throat. Neo landed on her back, doing her best to distribute the impact as broadly as she could, and used her right foot planted in Nora's back to throw her as she yanked down on the parasol. Nora's head snapped back and her body followed, feet in the air over her head, and she slammed hard into the ground. It was an impressive throw, Nora's petite body leaving an outsized hole in the ground as her aura dropped into the red and their referee, Blake, called her out.

Pyrrha was impressed as Neo kicked her legs into the air and snapped herself upright into a standing position with a calm defensive guard.

"Well done, Neo!" Pyrrha readied herself for the delightful challenge of two-on-one. "Now, if you and Weiss think you can take me, come and do so!"

Weiss flew across the ground towards Pyrrha and exchanged a rapid series of blows and blocks, rapier to sword. Neo watched as both girls spun rapidly and lashed out at each other with their blades. Metal clashes rang out in the courtyard. She waited: observing carefully to time her entry into the fray.

In an uncharacteristic move, Weiss swung downwards, as if her rapier was an axe. Pyrrha raised her left arm to block and readied a follow up strike with her sword, but she was never able to get the move off as she reflexively drew her right arm into her abdomen as Neo's parasol crashed into her left side, jamming her in the kidney. The unexpected blow knocked the wind out of her. Weiss rapidly spun clockwise as she leveled the edge of her blade against Pyrrha's undefended neck.

"Match!" Blake yelled out to close out the round.

Weiss's aura was barely a hit from the red zone; she breathed heavily and was barely able to celebrate her victory. Pyrrha smiled at her opponents and congratulated them on their hard-fought victory. Nora sat on the sidelines, as she muttered to herself over her early departure from the round. Neo was doubled over, head rested on the backs of her hands, which rested on the handle of her parasol with its tip against the ground.

 _Weiss and I make a surprisingly good team_. Neo thought as she worked to calm herself. _I can't believe we managed to fight off two opponents of such skill_. _Especially since our fighting style was not particularly well matched against theirs_. Unfurling her body to a fully upright position, she took in the scene before her. _We weren't_ exactly _trying to kill each other. Yet sparring didn't feel like the game I thought it would be._ If this was the level of expertise the students in this academy possessed, her former comrades are certainly going to be in trouble when they try to enact the next phase of their plans. Whatever they might be. She wished she knew more so that she could warn Weiss. Prove to her savior how appreciative she was. That she was on her side. That she owed her life to the girl. And Goodwitch and Ozpin.

She strode over to Weiss and wrapped the girl in a celebratory hug, slapped her on the back a couple times, and gave her a quick rub on top of her head. She was smiling like a fool the entire time. Weiss's face brightened into a toothy grin as she congratulated her teammate on such a "spectacular performance". The two teammates approached their rivals. Pyrrha, duly impressed by Neo and Weiss's teamwork, warmly embraced the tiny pair, wrapping them both up in one giant Amazonian hug.

"Well met, friends!" Pyrrha congratulated them as she released her grip. Turning serious, she extended a hand to Neo, "We are honored to have you to serve alongside us. I have no doubt that you will make for an exceptional Huntress."

Nora took advantage of Pyrrha's kind words as a distraction and snuck up behind the victors and gave each a forceful noogie. "I'll get you both next time! Why, Ren and I could take Neo AND the other four members of Team RWBY." A wicked smile crossed her features, "And the loser will make the winners a PANCAKE BREAKFAST!"

Neo looked from Weiss to Pyrrha over to Blake as she tried to figure out just how serious the energetic little Valkyrie was.

Weiss was rubbing her left bicep, still smarting from the vibration sent down it from the repetitive clashes against Pyrrha's sword and shield. "Knock it off, Nora. You guys wouldn't stand a chance against Neo and I, much less five-on-two."

Nora cocked an eyebrow in Weiss's direction, "A new challenger approaches, eh Weiss?"

"No, you little _dolt_! I'm just pointing out a fact, not trying to start another fight."

Neo put on a wide-eyed expression, hands held together with fingers towards the sky, her palms in at chest height, mock pleading with Weiss for a chance to take Nora up on her challenge.

Weiss turned with a huff as she rolled her eyes at her charge. "Thanks for the match, guys. Neo, we're heading back to the dorm before you and Nora agree to something stupid."


	15. Shower

Chapter 15

The three women from team RWBY started making their way to their dorm as Nora excitedly chattered to Pyrrha, despite their defeat, a short distance behind them. Weiss was exhausted; her aura had taken a beating. Noticing her distress, Neo slipped herself under Weiss's arm and did what she could to support her as they walked. Concern for the white-haired girl covered her face.

Blake gently laughed. "Don't worry about the Ice Queen, Neo. She's always like this after a particularly stressful fight. She's more of a finesse kind of fighter; battling Nora's more 'brute force' kind of strategy rarely works out well for her."

Weiss tried to give Neo a small hug-slash-squeeze, but she was feeling the impact of their recent brawl and was unable to generate much force for the move.

Neo smiled and reached up to Weiss's hand draped across her small shoulders and took it in hers as she laced their fingers together. Weiss leaned down and planted a small kiss on top of Neo's head.

Blake, slipped off behind them a small bit was tapping away at her scroll. She put the device away and told her teammates that she was going to hang out with Pyrrha and Nora, and that Yang and Ruby were on their way to meet them so they could spar Ren and Jaune for a while. Weiss waved her acknowledgement over her shoulder and kept walking as the other three girls diverted towards the gym.

"Can we meet you for lunch afterwards? I need a while to shower and recover a bit." Weiss asked.

"Sounds good. We'll meet you after the boys mop the floor with your teammates!" Nora taunted as the group parted ways.

As they arrived in their room, Weiss fell heavily onto the bed and was determined to seize an opportunity that she knew she couldn't possibly waste while they were going to have some privacy for a while.

"Neo?" Weiss ventured as she pat the spot on the bed next to her.

The small woman sat and pulled one leg up so she could face the girl.

"Do you think that you'd hop in the shower with me?"

Both eyes flashed pink as she stiffened at the suggestion.

"I'm sorry, no. You're right… Forget I said anything."

Jumping up, Neo grabbed Weiss's hands and pulled her to a standing position. Placing her hands on Weiss's shoulders, she gently wobbled the girl and braced her. Even though Weiss seemed fine, Neo gave her a wink.

"Umm, yeah. I am still a little worried about being a bit unstable on my feet after that match."

Winking again, Neo slipped under the heiress's arm and walked the girl over to grab up their toiletries and towels before the lead them into the bathroom. She sat Weiss down on the edge of the tub, positioned all of their essentials, and turned the water on. Neo smiled as she started slipping Weiss's uniform jacket off her shoulders. Folding it neatly, as Neo thought the heiress would appreciate, she placed it on the counter before reaching for the girl's vest and blouse buttons, undoing each in turn, removing both articles at once. She was shocked to see that the heiress wasn't wearing a bra, only a simple camisole that hugged her stunning frame like a second set of skin. She slid to her knees and took the heel of Weiss's shoes and pulled one off, then the other, followed immediately by her over-the-calf dress socks. Neo took her time; she let her fingers linger over the musculature of the girl's calves that was hidden under the dark fabric as she slid them down and off.

Weiss took Neo's extended hand and let her help as they both stood up. Neo turned Weiss around and her fingers found the small zipper at Weiss's hip. With a delicate touch, she slid it down. The fabric of the skirt parted and exposed more fabric than she expected to see. Neo was pleasantly surprised that the posh little princess wore boy-shorts instead of something a little more feminine.

Weiss crossed her hands over her chest and turned to see Neo smirking at her backside. "What?!"

Neo traced the edge of the fabric and ran her finger down the outside of Weiss's hip over the leg of the shorts as she raised an eyebrow and shrugged a little.

"Well, I _do_ wear a combat skirt when fighting and while in class or practicing, I have a uniform with a skirt. And my fighting style is rather acrobatic. A girl of my standing simply must protect her modesty!" She said with a small chuckle.

Neo looped her fingers through the waistband of Weiss's shorts and pulled the stunning heiress close. Standing on her tiptoes, she planted a small, sweet kiss on the girl's lips. Taking a small step back, Neo practically ripped her uniform off and tossed it into a crumpled pile on the floor. A sharp contrast to the care she extended to Weiss's uniform, which was neatly folded and stacked on the counter.

Completely naked, with her hands on her hips, Neo raised one corner of her mouth into a half smile and looked down to Weiss's panties then up to the arms crossed over her chest. She raised an eyebrow and flashed her eyes brown before returning them to their normal coloration.

Weiss turned so her back was to Neo and slipped her remaining garment off and promptly stepped into the shower behind the curtain.

Neo shook her head and rolled her eyes as she moved past the curtain and ensured it was closed. Neo closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the water washing over her again. She slicked back her hair and enjoyed the heaviness that accompanied the water weighing it down. After so many years as a criminal that required a great deal of hiding out, she wasn't always able to take regular showers, and she never had an array of clean clothes to change into. Nor was her combat outfit cleaned frequently. She appreciated the chance to learn at Beacon, but even more than that, the simple fact of being able to live like a decent human, with a home, shower, and clean clothing. Say nothing for the simple joy of not being hungry all the time with regular access to incredible food… She felt the tears well in her eyes and knew she couldn't stop them.

Weiss heard a small sound from behind her. Neo's breath caught and was now irregular. She turned and saw the tiny woman leaning against the wall, her body shaking and shoulders heaving. Water, no ~ tears, ran down her face. She reached out to Neo and placed a hand on her cheek. Neo's hand covered Weiss's and held it there. With nothing else she could think to tell the girl, she smiled and placed her other hand over her heart and bowed her head.

"Why are you thanking me?"

Neo realized that a girl of Weiss's upbringing would never understand; she'd figure out how to tell the heiress her story some other time. Instead, she simply shook her head 'no' and tapped at the nonexistent watch on her wrist.

"Okay. Later then."

Neo nodded her head and stepped in towards Weiss. Wrapping her arms around the girl, she hugged her tightly and kissed her neck and earlobe a couple of times. This girl… Neo caressed her back and ran her fingers through the girl's silken white hair. Weiss stiffened a little as Neo's hands cupped her bottom and give its toned shape a squeeze. Weiss looked down into Neo's wide eyes and felt her body relax. Neo felt a pair of hands slip over her shoulders and caress her back, they parted at her lower back and ran over top of her hips. She smiled at Weiss's timidity as she buried her face into the girl's shoulder.

"Since you're one of the first I've ever confessed that I'm a lesbian to, I guess it shouldn't be as hard to tell you that you're the first person I've ever dated, I mean, if, ugh, if that's what we're doing. If not, that's fine too, but I just want you to know that you're the first person I've ever, umm, touched like this or let touch me. I'm still a little nervous about all of it."

Neo pulled back and raised both eyebrows at Weiss's use of the phrase 'a little'.

"Don't be a pest! Fine, more than 'a little' nervous… I'm just afraid that I'm not going to be good enough or pretty enough or whatever enough for you."

Mouth agape; Neo couldn't believe what the girl in front of her was saying. How could Weiss Schnee ever think that she wasn't good enough for anyone, much less a woman of her _history_? How could this stunning Snow Angel not see how beautiful she was? Neo took Weiss's face in her hands, pulled her downward, and passionately kissed her. She pushed Weiss back slightly she pointed to the girl and extended all of her fingers, drew a line in the air and extended all of her fingers again under where she made the line.

"Umm? I'm ten over ten?" Weiss was confused.

Exasperated, Neo gestured to Weiss's face and made a sweeping motion, taking in the girl's entire body.

"Wait, you're telling me I'm a "perfect ten"?" Weiss asked, unbelieving.

Flipping her hands out with a flamboyant flourish as if saying 'duh', Neo's eyes were wide.

"It's just that no one's has ever said that and really meant it. I knew that boys were only really interested in me because of my last name. As if they saw me as their ticket to wealth and power."

Neo couldn't believe that Weiss didn't fully appreciate her own beauty. _Well, there are things about my life that she'll never understand. Makes sense that there's more to Weiss than I can guess at._ She let both eyes go pink and looked compassionately at the girl in front of her. Weiss met her gaze, but didn't speak. Realizing that they had already been in the shower a while, Neo reached for her soap and shower poof. She handed the lathered-up item to Weiss and turned her back to the girl. She winked as she looked back at Weiss over her shoulder and pointed to her back.

With a gulp, Weiss began tentatively washing the small woman's back. Sure, she saw Neo naked when the woman pulled her little stunt the other day. Sure, she saw Neo naked when she ripped her clothes off and waited for Weiss to strip off her panties to get into the shower. Sure, they've been naked together for the last several minutes. But now, now Weiss just stared as she took in the sight of this tiny, lithe, toned little ball of feminine beauty in front of her. How could this gorgeous woman, who, despite her past seemed to be incredibly caring with a heart far too big for her tiny frame, have taken an interest in someone as plain as she was?

Neo noticed that Weiss had stopped scrubbing. She turned around and saw the thousand-yard stare in those icy blue eyes. She took the poof, slid past Weiss, and began scrubbing her back. One hand using the poof to soap her while the other slid easily across the girl's slippery back. Weiss seemed to relax against Neo's hands, as she let the woman partially support her. When she finished, she gave Weiss's bottom a nice slap, which echoed in the shower. The girl let out a yelp of surprise that delighted Neo. _Silly girl_!

They finished up and took turns drying the other off before they settled into their respective routines. Neo's was far quicker than Weiss's, of course. She gave Weiss a hug, gathered her things, and returned to the bedroom. With a bit of effort, she wriggled into her now clean combat outfit; she was going to have to remember that her pants always shrunk a little when she washed them. _At least there was one advantage to not cleaning this regularly. Didn't have to look ridiculous doing this weird dance._

After she put her things away, she rifled through Weiss's side of their closet and pulled out the girl's combat skirt. As she laid it out it on the bed, she drifted into thinking about how cute the petite girl looked in it. She then lined up their shoes by the door. She took a seat at Weiss's desk and started to jot a few notes. They still needed to run back to the tailor and pick up the rest of her uniforms – "uniforms" was the first item on the list. But, she was incredibly hungry after the match with Pyrrha and Nora, so he dining hall was more important right now though. They were supposed to go to lunch after, but the additional match between Ruby / Yang and Jaune / Ren and Weiss's idea for a private shower together delayed that task. "Food" was added above "uniforms". She also needed to know what the schedule for the rest of the week looked like. Weiss helped her prepare for Oobleck's class, but none of the others. She should probably get a handle on that since she was now going to have to plan her week a bit more than she was used to doing in her previous life. Writing "schedule? / study" on the paper, she nibbled the end of the pen and thought about what else needed to be done that night. A cheeky thought and smile prompted her final addition as Weiss entered the room – "make out / sexy-times ;-)"

As Weiss pulled on her combat skirt, she asked Neo what she was working on. Neo simply held up her list and waved it around.

"Well, I can't see what it is if you keep thrashing it around."

With a mock huff, Neo turned her chair around and extended her arm and the paper towards Weiss. The girl grabbed it as soon as she finished tying her belt and started looking around for her white bolero jacket.

"Absolutely, I'm starving… We can stop after grabbing food… The schedule's pretty easy, classes are light and the emphasis is on practice. Oobleck's been known to spring surprise tests on us, I just wanted you to be prepared in case he did… Wait! What?" The girl felt a blushing heat on her pale cheeks, as she looked up in shock.

Neo puckered her lips and make a kissy-face at the flustered heiress. Weiss however recovered quickly and growled at her before saying that she was going to abandon Neo to fend for herself if she wasn't ready to head to the cafeteria in the next three seconds.

Given how easy it was to get Weiss so worked up, she realized that it would probably become her new favorite hobby while at Beacon. She joined Weiss at the door and slipped on her shoes, using Weiss as support, before hugging her and darting out the door. She looked back into the room and made an irritated gesture as she tapping her foot and pointed at her wrist ~ the implication was clear, she was accusing Weiss for causing the holdup.

With an annoyed huff, Weiss stormed out, slammed the door, grabbed Neo by the back of her jacket and started to drag her towards the cafeteria. "You're even worse than Ruby normally is."

Despite her the outward annoyance, both women sported huge smiles, unseen by the other, at the others' antics.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the delay ~ but, you were warned that this month is going to be rough! I'm still working on the editing and I'm doing what I can to juggle it with NaNoWriMo and the little thing that happened a couple days ago and some other stuff.

Hope you liked having a bit more of a fight scene from Monday's piece.

Take care and thanks for reading, reviewing, following, and favorite-ing.


	16. Serve

Chapter 16

Weiss wasn't terribly surprised that no one else from JNPR or RWBY was in the dining hall; fights between Yang and Ren tended to go on for a while, after all. But the timing still seemed off to her given how long it took them to shower and stroll over. Gnawing on her apple, Weiss was tapping on her scroll.

* * *

*- Hey, Yang. Is everything okay? No one from RWBY or JNPR is in the dining hall – still sparring?"

*- Nah… Just hanging out. Blakey, Pyrrha, and I are all chatting with Rubes… She's still a bit hurt, but she'll come around ~ she's just happy to see you happy.

*- Thanks, Yang. You know it wouldn't have gone well if she wanted to talk to me. I'm still not sure about everything that's happening.

*- You're not completely off the hook, Ice Queen. She's still going to want to talk…

* * *

Weiss's lips pressed into a small frown. _Why would Ruby want to talk to me about this? It's not like_ she _ever made a move or indication that she liked_ me _– she has no right to be upset that Neo and I are, well, whatever._

Neo looked inquisitively at Weiss when she noticed the girl's seeming discomfort with whatever she was seeing on her scroll.

"Ruby…"

Neo cocked her head to the side as she pressed for more information.

"You, haven't noticed?"

Now thoroughly confused, she shook her head 'no'.

Weiss sighed and began, "Before I came out, I had a bit of a crush on Ruby that, I've come to find out, wasn't as well concealed as I thought it was. Ruby was afraid that she was misinterpreting things, so she never brought it up, but she apparently reciprocated those feelings." She paused to look at Neo; her icy eyes accentuated the sadness she felt. "And then you came along and we both fell so hard and so fast for each other. Now Ruby's pretty hurt. She probably feels like I rejected her because of everything that's happening with us."

Neo took Weiss's hands and nodded sympathetically. _Poor kid. Both of them, actually. I can't even imagine how difficult this is going to be between the two of them. Or me! I mean, I'm kind of an integral part of the team now_.

Weiss appreciated the concern Neo showed over this. She took one of the woman's hands in her own and held it for a few moments before she spoke again. "We should wrap up here and head over to the tailor. Once we drop off your new uniforms back in our room, we can finish our list."

Unsure if Weiss really wanted to finish the whole list or if she just forgot what the last item was, Neo excitedly nodded and wolfed down the rest of her food, eager for the opportunity to get to the "make out / sexytimes ;-)" agenda item.

Upon returning to their dorm with Neo's uniforms, Weiss pointed to the unused lower bar in her closet and told Neo it was hers for all of her uniforms. Even though the bar was fairly low, her small garments didn't touch the floor thanks to Neo's compact size. Weiss noticed this and smirked at the woman's dainty proportions. But she noticed something else even more striking. There was happiness in Neo's stance as she motionlessly looked into the closet as she took in all of the uniforms, the dress, and pajamas that Weiss bought for her the other day. A small tear was forming in Neo's eye.

Weiss slid her arms around the woman and pulled her close. Whispering in her ear, "Beacon's your home now. To be a Huntress is to live a life of service to others. Those that serve deserve to have what they need."

Thinking about what the girl said, Neo was caught in a strange thought. _I always served. I served Cinder, and Roman, as best as I could. I served, as necessary, to survive before that. And now, I'm settling into this life with surprising ease. Eager to please and serve Weiss and the rest of her team. Now, being a Huntress and serving Remnant. Just slipping into serving; it's what I do. Just like Cinder was fond of saying: 'Don't think. Obey.'_

Neo broke Weiss's hold and turned to face the girl. Though blurry through her tears, the girl's piercing icy blue eyes met hers. _I'm not just obeying any more. I'm thinking for myself. Thinking that I care for this girl. She could have easily killed me. Or condemned me to a life in prison. Weiss's kindness must be repaid. Not only to Weiss, but also to all those I hurt, directly or indirectly, in my past life. Now, I choose to serve others._

Neo nodded her head. More to herself as she steeled her resolve to embrace this opportunity.

Weiss, on the other hand, unaware of Neo's internal monologue, thought that Neo was agreeing with her statement about Beacon as a new home.

Neo leapt at Weiss and threw her arms around the girl. Around her friend. A friend that she would never give up on. That she would never let regret giving her this chance to redeem herself.

Neo ended the hug as abruptly as she initiated it. She grabbed their 'to-do' list and pointed to the "schedule?" item. Weiss nodded and said that they should enjoy the weather while they work and head into the gardens. They could hang out beneath one of the massive trees while they worked outside. Neo nodded her agreement as she grabbed her calendar, a notebook, her Grimm Ecology text, and some writing implements and followed Weiss's lead.

* * *

A/N: And we're back on the normal schedule! (For now, at least...) For the few of you all that have added this story to your favorite list but don't have the messaging function activated on your profile ~ thank you! I normally send a quick message to everyone that adds it as a favorite, so here's yours. Followers ~ thanks to all of you as well!

It's been a spot over a month since posting the first chapter and, apparently, there's a few of you that like it! 37 took the time to favorite it, 67 followers, and 16 reviews. I have no idea if that's "good" based on the metrics of the site, but it's amazing to me! I know Neo/Weiss isn't exactly a common ship, but the fact that there's readers and you all are sticking along with it... It makes me really happy that my work is entertaining others.

So, yeah... Feel free to message me, review, or whatever strikes your fancy ~ I'd be happy to hear from you and reply.

(PS ~ I'm still behind on NaNoWriMo for this year, but I'm making progress! Hope to be caught up to par by the 15th.)


	17. Schedule

Chapter 17

The couple found a tree with an adequate canopy to provide shade as the sun moved over the next few hours, and settled down to began filling in Neo's calendar. The course schedule wasn't particularly heavy as the emphasis was on practical exercises. Mondays and Wednesdays were Professor (Doctor) Oobleck's History lessons. Tuesday and Thursday were Professor Port's Grimm Ecology followed by Goodwitch's Combat Tactics. Fridays and, occasionally, Saturdays were fieldtrip days. Plus, the students were expected to make use of the light schedule to participate in more sparring, individualized studies, and 'activities' – a broad catch-all for additional training necessary to become effective Huntsmen and Huntresses. Some students, like Weiss, participated in strategic management training, while Ruby honed her art as an armorer. As they went through the schedule, it looked as though they would be off this coming weekend, but the following would have an overnight trip to Forever Fall.

Once the schedule for the semester was entered into her calendar, Neo enthusiastically grabbed her Grimm Ecology text and held it up to Weiss. Weiss sensed her excitement but thought it was best to let her down gently before she actually had to sit through one of Professor Port's rambling lectures.

"Umm, Neo… You should know that you'll learn a lot more from the text than from Professor Port. He's a retired Huntsman with a lot, I mean _a lot_ of stories that, well, don't always follow a linear path towards his point. And, to be honest, I only scribble so many notes to stay awake to not miss the rare bit of useful information buried in those stories."

Neo's face fell. Grimm Ecology seemed like it was going to be a fascinating area of study, but Weiss shattered that illusion.

"Hey! I have an idea. Why don't we form a study group? We can do our own research and meet in the evenings on Sunday to share what we learned about our assigned Grimm."

As brilliant as the idea seemed to Neo, she was somewhat skeptical that her other classmates would take well to more coursework and such optional homework. Weiss would. She was that kind of studious girl. But she didn't think Ruby and Yang would, not from what she knew of them so far. Blake and Pyrrha might, and Ren seems like he could be interested, but the others would probably be out. _Well, that would be five of us. That could work as a starting point, I guess_.

Sensing Neo's mental calculations, Weiss chirruped, "Besides, even if no one else wants to join us and it ends up as just you and I, I think we'd make excellent _study-buddies_!"

 _What a little dork! Just look at that grin. Someday, I'm going to have to make Snow Angel here tell me what, exactly, made her fall for me and turn into this raging little dork as opposed to the uptight Schnee Heiress she must have been before coming to Beacon._

Neo pounced the girl, kissed her neck, and pulled her to the ground as they rolled and tussled for superiority in their play-fight. Much to her disadvantage, Weiss was not a particularly strong or scrappy girl. The Schnee sisters never engaged in these types of battles the way Ruby and Yang must have. Neo knew she would win as soon as Weiss tried, ineffectually, to roll her off. However, she was of the mindset that this would be far more enjoyable if they were more evenly matched. She occasionally let Weiss roll her over and have a small taste of what hand-to-hand combat victories would be like.

"Grruh! Stop letting me win!"

With a wicked smirk, Neo grabbed Weiss's left shoulder and pinned the girl's right leg with her left. Yanking down on the shoulder and thrusting her right hip upward, she effortlessly tossed the slightly larger heiress and knocked the wind out of her as she landed atop Weiss. She scrambled up the girl's body, sat on her chest, pinned her wrists together with one hand, leaned forward to kiss her and began mercilessly tickling Weiss's side with her free hand.

Weiss screamed out laughing. "You monster! You and Yang with your cheating ways. Taking advantage of mine and Ruby's small, delicate, little frames with your cursed tickles." Goaded by her grievances, Neo redoubled her efforts. The size difference was only a couple inches, but Neo was by far the stronger of the two. It really wasn't fair. But it was certainly fun. The small, wriggling figure under her was rapidly losing her breath. Snorting and laughing under the playful assault. She couldn't keep torturing her like this. Releasing Weiss's wrists, she sat up, crossed her arms, and looked sternly at the girl.

"Okay, I surrender!" Still laughing and trying to regain her composure. "I surrender, you vile fiend!"

Neo popped up and offered Weiss her hand. The girl took it and, still complaining about Neo's unfair, cheating tactics, was not about to drop the issue simply because their little skirmish was over. Neo rolled her eyes as she started to gather her stuff and piling up Weiss's materials for her.

"And to think… I trusted you! And what do you? Use your feminine wiles to beguile and disarm me. Use Yang-approved torture methods!"

Neo shook her head at the heiress's constant stream of complaints as she jammed Weiss's books into the girl's midsection and handed them off to her. Catching Weiss off guard, the impact caused her to hunch forward as her breath caught. Neo leaned it and gave her a peck on the forehead and gently pat her cheek a couple of times before walking away.

"And another thing, Neopolitian…"

 _Dork. And she's still going…_


	18. Outed

Chapter 18

"Are you even listening, Neo? I will not rest until I've complained about _everything_!" Weiss was still going as they walked into their room.

Neo made a gesture with her left hand holding her thumb parallel to her other four fingers and moving them in unison open and closed.

"Why you… I am _not_ yapping!"

Neo suddenly covered her mouth as she mimed a gasp.

"What now?"

Neo closed the distance between her and Weiss, grabbed the heiress's scroll and tapped the home button to show them the time. The dining hall would only be open another forty-five minutes; they needed to hurry over if they were going to have dinner. Neo was certainly adapting quite easily to having so much food regularly available; she couldn't remember the last time she ate so well, so frequently.

In unison, Neo pointed to both, her mouth and the time on the scroll, to indicate that she was starving and wanted to track down some dinner.

"Oh, wow. It's getting late." Weiss smiled at Neo. "Time really flies when we're spending time together. Honestly, I'm so comfortable with you, I just kind of lose myself."

Neo thought it was a sweet compliment coming from Weiss, but at the same time, the girl was still yapping and cutting into their precious eating time. Neo tossed their calendars and other items on their desk before heading back to the door. Giving Weiss a quick kiss on the cheek, she grabbed her by the little bag at the small of her back and started to drag her towards the dining hall. Weiss grabbed the doorknob and yanked it shut as she was being dragged out of the room.

Weiss finally freed herself from Neo's vice-like grip and turned around to walk along side the small woman and caught her hand. She leaned her head onto Neo's shoulder and the pair left the dorms in silence.

Neo was enjoying the peace and quite after Weiss's tirade the entire way back to the dorms. The girl probably didn't want to admit it, probably didn't even realize it, but Ruby's hyperactivity seemed to have rubbed off on her a bit.

Of course it was too good to last, though.

"I really don't understand it. You and Ruby are both so tiny but, when it comes to food, you're bottomless pits. Ruby with her cookies and you with, well, everything, actually."

Neo shrugged and kind of glanced away.

Weiss halted and grabbed hold of Neo's shoulder, "Neopolitan?" The small woman stopped and turned to face her. "One day, I would really like to hear, well, not 'like', that's not the right… Whatever… I want to hear about your past. There's so many things that I know take for granted, having had everything I've ever needed. I've learned a lot from Blake, Ruby, and Yang about what it's like to not have everything. I feel like you have a story that you keep inside, but need to share. And I'll be here to hear it when you're ready."

Neo wrapped her left arm around Weiss's waist and rest her head on her partner's shoulder as they resumed walking towards the dining hall. Mercifully, Weiss kept quiet this time. The girl was right; Neo did want to tell someone the full story of everything that she's been through these years. _She would never understand though. She said it herself, she takes the necessities for granted. She had everything handed to her. How could a Schnee possibly understand the struggle of my life?_

As soon as they arrived in the dining hall, the pair grabbed their trays and loaded up with their food before looking around the large hall for their comrades. They spotted the rest of RWBY and JNPR at their regular tables, so they wandered over to join them.

Weiss was a little concerned about how Ruby was going to act, especially since Yang indicated that the girl wanted to speak with her. She was afraid of the questions Ruby would ask and she knew that she would not have any answers for. So, Weiss tried to put as much distance between her and Ruby as possible. She also tried to limit the amount of physical contact she made with Neo; it seemed prudent to not rub the new relationship that was causing Ruby's distress right in her face.

Neo noticed the way that Weiss's immediately went silent, picked a seat as far away from Ruby as she could be, and her general avoidance of their teammates, especially the girl in the red cloak.

Pyrrha, oblivious to Weiss's struggle, wanted Neo and Weiss's input to debrief from their earlier match and figure out how she could improve. Unfortunately for the Amazonian warrior, Weiss was (surprisingly, Neo noted) no longer in much of a chatty mood and Neo's ability to communicate her take on their match was fairly limited.

Trying another tactic, Pyrrha tried to ask Neo a series of simple 'yes' or 'no' questions to try to gain an understanding of her training and battle style. Much to Pyrrha's chagrin, Neo responded with a lot more shrugging than offering the substantial answers she hoped for.

Eventually Pyrrha gave up and everyone ate in silence. To Weiss's relief, her teammates decided to head out as soon as they finished rather than hang out with the silently brooding bunch.

After Ruby, Blake, and Yang left and Jaune and Ren headed off for the dessert cart, Weiss began speaking again, "Well, Pyrrha, I guess it just had a lot to do with the fact that Neo and I were able to read each other's movements and intentions pretty well and react to each other more quickly than you and Nora could."

Pyrrha and Neo both snapped their heads towards Weiss, especially since it had been at least ten minutes since Pyrrha last tried asking Neo a question.

"Umm, Weiss… Are you okay?" Pyrrha cautiously ventured.

"Yeah, it's just that I'm a little uncomfortable around Ruby right now."

Nora leaned across Pyrrha and looked at Weiss. "Ooohhhh! Gossip!"

Weiss looked around before speaking again. "I'm as surprised as everyone else, but it turns out that Ruby is more observant than Jaune. By a lot, actually."

"What do you mean, Weiss?"

"Pyrrha, it's painful to watch, but virtually everyone at Beacon, aside from Jaune knows that you're into him. You're not exactly subtle or trying to hide it…"

"That was a _little_ more blunt than I would have put it, but yeah, that's accurate." Nora interrupted.

"… or anything. I wasn't even aware that I was giving off any signals or anything, and yet Ruby picked up on them. So Yang told me that she's pretty crushed that Neo and I are together and trying things out." Weiss finished and took the small woman's hand in hers and averted her gaze from the girls sitting across from them.

"Weiss, umm, wow… I, ugh, I didn't know. I never saw anything more than being partners between you two." Pyrrha really wasn't sure what to say in this situation.

Unfortunately for Weiss, Nora had no such shortcoming.

"Is anyone on your team NOT a lesbian?" Nora shouted loud enough that anyone in the building could hear before clasping her hands to her mouth, as she realized what she just did.

Turning an incredibly bright red, Weiss tried to shrink into her seat and hide from all of their schoolmates that turned towards the sound of Nora's outburst.

"Aw, c'mon!" Jaune's voice was shrill as it reached them from the far side of the room.

Pyrrha's head fell forward and landed on the palm of her hand. Her other hand massaged her temple. Nora was bubbling over though. "Honestly, I always thought you and Blake would end up together. You're both so, well, brooding and dark and there's the whole 'monochrome' color palate you two bring to the table…" The Valkyrie shut up and sat up straight with a "meerp!" as Pyrrha's elbow made contact with her ribs.

The women all sat in silence; none dared meet another's gaze. Pyrrha stood up and turned to leave before she paused and looked over her shoulder, "As long as you're happy Weiss, I support you and Neopolitan. But, it doesn't change what your leader is probably feeling. And you'll need to work that out together." With that parting bit of advice, she headed towards the exit.

"You're really cute together!" Nora turned her eyes towards Pyrrha before sighing and getting up to follow her. "We're all happy for you. You too, Neo."

Neo's hand hurt from how hard Weiss was squeezing it. _Poor girl was basically just outed to the entire school._ She didn't have the heart to try to pull her crushed digits from the girl. Neo suddenly realized that there's no way news like that wouldn't make its way to Atlas almost immediately. She chanced a look at Weiss. The girl's face was blank as she looked down at the table. She was probably worried about her father finding out.

Despite her outwardly stoic appearance, Weiss's mind was flying. _Winter. My ridiculously over-bearing sister is going to lose her mind when she finds out that I'm dating a former criminal. "What will father say?"_ ~ she could hear the woman's stern voice already ~ _"You are the Schnee Dust Company's heir-apparent and you would risk our family's reputation for this criminal?"_ There was absolutely nothing she or Neo could do to ever redeem her in the eyes of the Schnee family. She glanced at Neo, _And now, this poor woman was about to be thrown to those wolves, after just barely escaping whatever torment she faced from that Torchwich fiend._

"Neopolitan, I am so sorry that happened." Weiss finally realized the death grip she had on the small woman's hand and eased up significantly. "My family will probably start hearing rumors about this within the hour. Then they'll start calling. And since I'll keep ignoring them, they'll probably send my older sister Winter to check up on me." She paused briefly, "Winter has never approved of anything I've done. She hates that I came to Beacon instead of staying at Atlas and following her into the military. She sends me disapproving notes every time I try to tell her about all that Team RWBY has accomplished. She hates that I want to live my own life and do something that makes me happy, regardless of how it 'reflects on our family.' And now I've dragged you right into that mess."

Neo was touched that the girl cared so much about how it was going to impact her. Weiss clearly wasn't thinking of just how she was going to have to deal with everything. Neo smiled at Weiss and shrugged. She pointed to herself, pat the table in front of Weiss, then pat the back of the girl's chair before she leaned against her and looked up into her eyes.

Weiss softly chuckled. "In front of, behind, and right next to…" She tilited her head and rested it upon the multihued head on her shoulder. "The same place I'll be for you, Neo."


	19. Preparation

Chapter 19

The remainder of the week went by smoothly. Weiss was actually chatting with Ruby again, although she was actively avoiding being alone with her team leader to put off the inevitable conversation that she wanted to have with Weiss.

Teams RWBY and JNPR agreed to meet up to spar on Sunday afternoon as their schedules were pretty light for the weekend, but that still left Friday evening and all day Saturday for Weiss to plan out. At the beginning of the semester, Weiss, ever committed to their studies, mandated that all Fridays without a field trip _must_ be spent studying for a minimum of six hours before her teammates were allowed to have any fun. And she was a hard taskmaster, dead set to keep the reaminder of RWBY focused. As best as she could, anyhow.

The team was seated around their room as Weiss lead their study session. Neopolitan alone was enthralled with Weiss's version of teaching; it made her look forward to the Sunday evening Grimm Ecology session they had planned. Blake wasn't exactly paying attention, but her keen hearing allowed her to soak in the words floating in the air around her, despite the fact that her attention was tied up reading another book nestled in her textbook. Ruby and Yang were far less successful at hiding their lack of attention. The siblings broke into a full on fight not even a half-hour into their session. The two kept poking at each other before things escalated from there.

Weiss looked up from what had become a monologue, only Neo's excited eyes greeted her before she took in the sight of her teammates, and asked: "Honestly, why do I even bother?"

"Because you care about our grades more than we do?" Yang offered.

"Because the Ice Queen hates all forms of fun?" Ruby deadpanned.

"Because you're trying to impress your girlfriend with how smart you are?" Blake chipped in.

Neo raised her eyebrow and shrugged, holding her hands out, palms up.

"Yeah," Weiss said, "I don't know why either, Neo." As her teammates' attention was already waning again, she threw up her hands. "Fine! If you don't care about your grades, I don't care either. Go do whatever."

Blake pulled out the novel tucked away in her text and gracefully hopped up into her bed. Ruby and Yang bolted out the door, unable to stay inside anymore. Neo just sat there, expectantly eying her 'teacher'.

"So, what would you like to do?"

Neo smirked at the girl and lead her over towards their closet. Reaching in, she pulled out the dress Weiss bought her and smiled.

"Well, if you're planning to wear that, we're going to have to find some place special to go." Weiss racked her brain as she thought where in Vale would make for an amazing date that would really impress Neo. After all, the woman was dating a Schnee! Weiss reached in and pulled one of her dresses and set it on the bed next to Neo's.

Neo's dress was gorgeous. Jade green with black embroidery stitching created small paisleys throughout the bodice and corset lacing up the back. Weiss's dress was a simple strapless affair with an empire waist. The white fabric was highlighted by silver thread, which stitched small Schnee Snowflake accents around the edging, top and bottom.

Weiss dug through the closet and pulled out a pair of white silk ballet slipper flats and handed Neo her new wedges ~ black with a small rise, as compared to the boots of her combat outfit, of only an inch and a half. Heedless of the silent Faunus-ninja in her bed, the two began preparing for the night. Weiss went into the bathroom and her makeup before getting dressed. Neo remained in the bedroom and pulled her hair into a quick braid draped over her left shoulder before she slipped into her dress. A short second later, she realized that it was impossible for her to lace it on her own. She held the garment up and approached the BY pairs bunk and tapped on Blake's bed to get her attention.

The Faunus peered over the edge and looked down to see Neo looking up with a pleading look in her eyes as she pointed to her back.

Blake hopped down with a smile and playful roll of her eyes, "Sure."

Neo turned and Blake began to lace the silk ribbon. As she fingered the delicate fabric, she couldn't help but comment on it. "Did… Was this a gift from Weiss?"

Neo nodded her reply. She was surprised Blake would ask. The Faunus had to know that Neo came to Beacon with nothing but her combat outfit and parasol.

"She must really care about you. This is one of the most amazing pieces I've ever seen." Blake said as she absently swatted at the end of the ribbon she just finished lacing. Neo turned and held out her hands, low at her side and palms out, as if to ask 'well?'.

"It looks great, but it's missing something. Maybe a green accent? You can borrow my eye shadow if you'd like."

Neo smiled and had an idea. Blinking her eyes a couple of times, she held them shut for a brief moment before opening them and looking at Blake with a soft smile.

"W-wow!" Blake stumbled in shock at the sight of the woman's magnificent green eyes. "That's quite a trick!" She placed a comforting hand on Neo's shoulder, "You and Weiss are both lucky to have each other." Blake turned, leapt into her bed, and continued with her novel.

Neo picked out the dress because she thought it would compliment her green eyes quite nicely, Blake's reaction seemed to bear out that fact.

Neo's smile widened at the thought of the normally reserved Faunus's breath catching at the surprising green hue in her eyes. _If I caught Blake's attention with them, Weiss is going to be blown away_!

Neo took seat on the edge of their bed as she slipped on her wedges and laced them up. The sound of the bathroom door as it opened then closed signaled her that Weiss was finished. Neo kept her head low before she closed her eyes; she wanted to ensure that Weiss saw her eyes directly, not accidentally catching them.

Neo reached for Weiss so the girl would walk up to her when came over. As expected, a moment later, Weiss's hands took hold of Neo's and the girl asked what she was doing. Taking Weiss's hands tightly into her own, she raised her head and opened her eyes. Brilliant green gazed into icy blue.

Weiss gasped at the sight and Neo smiled. _It's nice to be right_. She raised one corner of her mouth in a half-smile at having stunned the heiress. Neo pushed on Weiss's hands slightly to make the girl take a step back so she could admire the girl in her dress.

Pale, bare shoulders, well-toned from years of fencing practice were the first to catch Neo's eyes. _A Huntress, indeed_. The upper portion of the dress was form fitting, hugging Weiss's small breasts and cinched around her ribs just below them. From there down, the fabric effortlessly flowed to just an inch above the ground. The light fabric flitted easily in the gentle breeze that came through their open window. Weiss smiled at Neo's gaze, appreciatively taking in the sight. She sat next to the woman to slide on her flats. This allowed Neo to admire Weiss's shapely upper back, completely exposed by the strapless dress and Weiss's long white hair being pulled into a simple up do.

Unable to resist, Neo reached out to her friend and lightly traced her shoulder blades and the muscular definition with her fingertips. Neo felt a wave of regret hit her. _Great… Now we have to go out. We'll spend the entire night with each other. So, it'll be hours before I can even have a chance to do anything I've wanted to do over the past wee. Yeah, sure, the occasional kisses and copious amounts of snuggling was great, I want this Snow Angel in ways that I hope are reciprocated._

"We should probably get going before you start drooling. Whether it's over me or the fact that you're hungry remains to be seen thought." Weiss said with a wink.

"I'm drooling over both of you and I'm not dating either of you… Can you blame her?" Blake offered from her bed on the other side of the room.

Weiss scowled at the Faunus, "No one asked you, Miss Belladonna." Weiss stood in front of Neo and turned her attention to the beautiful girl in front of her, "The green really is quite stunning." As she bent at the waist, Weiss gave Neo a brief view of what cleavage she had before she leaned in to place a passionate kiss on the woman's lips, ever so briefly slipping her tongue into her girlfriend's mouth; a move more bold than any she's made to this point.

Neo, having been waiting for a sign like this all week, didn't waste the moment. She bolted forward and tackled Weiss to the ground as she returned the kiss with a fervor unlike any either had experienced before.

A pillow hit them from above and Blake's voice rang out, "Get a room, that's not ours, you two!"

A small blush appeared on the faces of both women as they parted. Neo offered her hand to help the crushed Weiss off the ground.

Studiously avoiding Blake's glare, Weiss retrieved a simple silver clutch from her closet and slipped her scroll, some Lien, and a credit card into it. She reached for Myrtenaster, but realized that with her dresses empire waist, she couldn't wrap her belted pouch with its sword hanger around it. She felt naked without her rapier, but thought it would be all right to leave it for the night, other than a few criminals, Vale was generally safe.

Neo grabbed her parasol and gave the handle a sharp twist and partially drew the blade concealed within. After a quick inspection, she secured the blade and held the parasol in her left hand as she waited for Weiss to finish looking everything over and decide they were ready to leave.

Weiss felt a bit of relief that at least one of them would be armed. If worse came to worse, she could use her semblance defensively to help Neo in a fight. As the pair gathered the last of their items and gave each other a quick once over before heading out, the door opened as Ruby and Yang returned, laughing together.

Yang noticed the pair first and practically had to pick her jaw off the floor. "Weiss, you certainly clean up nicely, but isn't Neo going to be jealous of the gorgeous girl you're hanging out with?"

Neo clasped her hands low in front of her and gently shifted side to side so the air would make the hem of her dress flair out as she tilted her head and smiled at Yang's complement.

Ruby turned to where her sister was looking and took in the sight of the two women. Neo's bright green eyes caught her off guard. "You have… Green eyes?" Ruby questioned.

Neo nodded and shrugged at the same time, seemingly unsure.

"Oh. It's pretty cool that you can change them so easily." Ruby looked at Weiss and gulped before she spoke again, "You both look very beautiful tonight. I mean, not that you don't look beautiful other times as well, it's just that tonight, I mean, wow… Have you seen you two?" Ruby laughed nervously, unable to completely stop chattering.

 _What an adorable little_ dolt! Weiss thought to herself. _I hope she finds someone that makes her as happy as she tries to make everyone else around her_.

Neo walked up to Ruby and ruffled the girl's already messy black and red hair. Ruby smiled and hunched her shoulders up under the playful onslaught before she wrapped Neo into a big hug. Her lips were so close to Neo's ears she was positive that no one other than maybe Blake would hear her, "If you hurt her, I won't let you live to regret it." She squeezed Neo tight, "I promise you that."

Neo knew Ruby's words were no empty threat; she respected the leader of Team RWBY immensely for her passionate protectiveness of her teammate. She returned Ruby's hug and took half a step back as she crossed both hands over her heart. Ruby barely smiled at her and nodded her head once in acknowledgement. Neo leaned in to give Ruby a soft kiss on her cheek after winning the grudging acceptance of Weiss's teammate, leader, and friend. She tried to smile broadly at the girl as she extended her right arm towards Weiss and waited for her date to take it. When Weiss did, Neo swore she saw Ruby's bright expression dim a little as the briefest frown flash across her face, though she thought she must have imagined it as Ruby was already smiling right back at them.

"Have a great night you two!"

Neo let Weiss lead her out of the room as the two began their walk into town for their first real date as a couple.


	20. Overlook

Chapter 20

"I was thinking about sushi, but Blake would be able to smell it on us when we get back, then give us a hard time for not bringing any back, so that's out of the question."

Neo cocked her head at that.

"She has a special affinity for seafood given, well, you know…"

Neo covered her giggle behind a hand; she was amused that someone as rebellious as Blake seemed to be would gleefully reinforce a stereotype about feline Faunus and fish. It was a bit silly, but endearing and amusing nonetheless. She bumped into Weiss to prod the girl for more.

"Since seafood is out, I was thinking maybe you could choose: noodles, if you want to go lighter, or steakhouse if you want a more substantial meal."

Neo puckered her lips together and scrunched them off to the side as she pondered her options while she wondered what Weiss would have in mind for the rest of the night. _Is Weiss going to adjust the plan with each decision? A kind of romantic choose your own adventure? Well, a steakhouse would probably be fancier. That would be more appropriate for these dresses. Noodles would be too casual. Can only class them up so much._

Weiss stepped in front of Neo and extended her right hand first, she said "Noodles" and as she extended her left, said "Steak".

Neo took Weiss's left hand and waited for the white-haired beauty in front of her to lead them away.

Weiss chuckled and good naturedly said "Considering what a ravenous little beast you are, how am I not surprised you'd go with the more, ahem, substantial option?"

Neo grinned sheepishly as she shoulder bumped Weiss and pushed the girl's left arm behind her back. Lifing it slightly, Weiss reacted as expected "OW! Don't twist my arm like that and try to lead me away like a cop leading a criminal!"

She eased the pressure and released Weiss's hand before placing her hand on the small of her back and giving a gentle push.

"Yeesh, you're in a hurry tonight! Hungry or something?"

Noncommittally, she tilted her head from side to side as she hoped the heiress would guess her actual reason for wanting to get past the slower part of the evening.

"Oh, I'm sorry…" Weiss started in her characteristically sarcastic tone, "Is it too much for you to look at how stunning I am in this dress? Are you just aching to get back to the dorm and try to do something that ends up with our clothes in a pile on the floor?"

Neo nodded enthusiastically at her words with a seductive look and wink.

"I mean I don't blame you or anything, just look at me!" Weiss continued as she eyed Neo up and down, "Or, look at you, for that matter. Surprisingly, you're not too hard on the eyes either when we get you a little cleaned up."

Neo faked a gasp with eyes wide open as she brought her hand to her chest in a hurt manner; she let Weiss know exactly what she thought.

"Oh, now I'm a fiend for offending you so?"

Neo nodded energetically before she teasingly blew a kiss towards Weiss.

Weiss laughed at the small woman as she wrapped an arm around her to pull her tight, "You're a little goofball." Then, more to herself, "My adorable girlfriend is a little goofball." before she sniggered at the thought of 'my girlfriend'.

With her arm protectively around Neo, Weiss decided to take the scenic route along the canals and take their time. It was close to the dinner rush and she would rather be out walking around than standing in an overly crowded waiting area, as time drags on, waiting for a table to free up. Of course, being who she was, she could always just offer a little financial incentive to move to the head of the line. That was definitely more Father's game than hers though.

Neo contentedly enjoyed the warmth she felt from Weiss as the girl held her. She always thought that being held like that would feel more claustrophobic. But Weiss made it feel right. _For some reason, she really does care about me. Being in her arms doesn't feel constrictive. It's strangely supportive. No wonder how I fell so fast_. She leaned in and kissed Weiss's cheek as they continued towards the canals.

Weiss was slowly warming up to Neo's frequent displays of affection. _Sure, two girls could easily walk the streets of Vale while holding hands or holding each other as 'just friends', but the kisses – those were definitely more than 'just friends' material_! At the beginning of last semester, even something as innocent as the handholding would not have flown with Weiss. But, Ruby… Weiss rolled her eyes and looked off across the road. _If it wasn't for that hyperactive little dolt, I don't think I could ever let Neo hold my hand, and kiss me, and be as cuddly as we have been with each other_. All the time she spent with Ruby helped Weiss realize how much she had missed out on by having a family that wasn't particularly warm and fuzzy. She didn't really want a relationship with Winter where they were as close as Ruby and Yang were, but it made her wonder how differently she would approach life if she had friends before coming to Beacon. People that were affectionate and warm; not as cold and 'politely detached' as her family.

Neo realized that Weiss was slowing down, but she didn't want to distract her from whatever private thoughts she was having, so she guided the girl towards the fence. Maybe if she acted like she wanted to take in the sights and lean against the fence, Weiss would come back from her thoughts and share the moment with her. She started to move to her left and hoped that Weiss's arm around her was holding tightly enough to just follow without breaking away. Fortunately, her plan worked, and within a couple dozen steps, they stood at the canal's fence, looking towards Beacon from the city. The sun, low in the sky to the west, cast a warm glow on the stone towers of their home.

"Hmm?"

Neo slowly pointed towards Beacon.

"Wow… I never stopped to look at it in this light. It's, it's really beautiful, isn't it?"

Neo nodded her assent and looked at Weiss as she tried to figure out where the girl was in her head. Not immediately getting anything, she looked towards Beacon again and tried to wrap her head around how, in a short week, this bastion of her former enemy became a warm, welcoming home. _A home filled with friendship. Kindness. Goodness_.

Weiss saw what looked like hopefulness in Neo's expression as she looked towards Beacon. It had only been a week, but the woman was adapting so well, Weiss suddenly feared that it was too good to be true.

"It wasn't because of anything you did."

Weiss's sudden words caught Neo off guard. Her confusion at the statement obviously showed.

"You were going to kill my teammate if I didn't step in."

Neo's head fell _. The blonde brawler was trying her best to kill me as well! She would have deserved her fate from facing off in combat._

"Killing Grimm is part of what we train to do. I can't even begin to count how many I've killed, but I've never killed another human or Faunus, and I wasn't about to start. Part of what I told Goodwitch was true: I thought you were a good fighter, but I had no idea if you had any sense of honor or if you only dropped your weapon as a last ditch effort to keep me from killing you, thinking I would just turn you over to the police. I still don't know why I did and I still worry that I might have made a mistake. You haven't given me a reason to distrust you, and I don't, but I admit that I'm terrified of you turning on me. Hurting me. Or worse, that I've hurt Ruby in the process of trusting someone that's only using me as a pawn to some larger endgame."

Neo was shocked at Weiss's revelation. There was nothing that she could do to assuage the girl's fears. Those fears were actually far more well-founded than Neo wanted to admit to herself. Without question, she was absolutely going to kill the girl she now knew as Yang. She placed her hand on top of Weiss's hand that rested on the fence. She held her hand as she tried to understand why Weiss was hung up on not being able to kill someone else. _It's just one of those things that happens in battle._ Neo paused to think about those she killed in the past and put her body count at around ten. _What kind of monster would Weiss think I am_? It would absolutely crush her if she hurt Weiss, especially after how close the heiress let her get to her.

Weiss really wasn't sure what to do or say next as she stared at the small hand on top of hers. Ruby must have rubbed off on her; she wanted to believe that the former criminal at her side really was a 'former criminal' and that she is in the process of changing. But this isn't one of the young girl's fairy tales. This is the real world, a world where the criminals that would associate with Torchwick were bad people. And they did bad things. Weiss started to worry about how fast and how easily she opened up to Neopolitan. _Sure, she seems genuine, but it still could be an act or ploy…_


	21. Trust

Chapter 21

The two women stood there for what seemed like hours.

Neo was terrified. _What possibly brought this sudden change of heart? It's as if she isn't even the same girl I left the dorm with…_

Weiss frantically tried to come to terms with her thoughts. Understand them; but she couldn't.

Neo wouldn't let go of Weiss's hand; the girl had a look like a spooked deer and she was afraid that Weiss going to try to run away, based on the way her body was shaking.

Weiss felt like she needed to get away. But, if she ran, she couldn't figure out if Neopolitan was really the 'Neo' she's let get so close to her this past week.

Neo wished she could speak. Talk to her friend and try to answer her questions.

Weiss clenched her eyes tight. All she wanted was Ruby to be at her side. Ruby to tell her that everything was going to be okay, the way she always did whenever Weiss started giving into her fears that the worst is yet to come.

* * *

It took some time but Weiss managed to regain her composure and clear her head. _I have to be overreacting, there's no way things could be anywhere near as bad as my frantic mind is making them out to be._ She reached out and took her friend's hand as she resolved to return to the sense of optimism the night started with. Weiss didn't miss Neo's jolt of shock at the sudden movement and she decided that she was going to have a bit of fun with the startled woman. She smirked at Neo as she reached out, grabbed the back of Neo's head, and yoinked the girl to her; forcefully pressing her lips to Neo's, she let her mouth open and began gently probing her friend's mouth with her tongue.

Shocked at Weiss's sudden change of heart, Neo leaned against the fence and did all she could to enjoy the sensation of Weiss letting go and embracing her. Gently slipping her tongue into Weiss's mouth, she stroked the girl's tongue with her own and let her hands wander up and down the girl's sides. Neo firmly pressed her hands into the small of Weiss's back and dragged her nails upward on either side of her spine up towards the girl's shock of white hair, pausing before taking a handful of the luxurious mane to run her fingertips along the nape of her neck.

Weiss enjoyed the chill her partner's fingers were giving her. The sensation combined with the thrill of freely kissing her, heedless of what anyone else thought, filled her with a lightheaded giddiness.

It felt freeing. Knowing that she was no longer hiding who she was. The support her friends gave her, their assurances that she was normal and that nothing was wrong with her for having these feelings, all combined to make her happier than she had been in a long time. Not even the thought of Winter chiding her for her deviance could dampen her mood. All that mattered right now was that she was in her friend's arms. Her girlfriend. Steeling herself, Weiss resolved to do what Ruby would – she was going to trust Neo.

"I'm sorry for all of that, Neo." Weiss rested her head on the small woman's shoulder, "I don't understand why I'm freaking out like this and acting like I don't trust you."

Neo placed her hands on either side of Weiss's face and lifted the girl's head to look into her eyes. She smiled and nodded understandingly at the girl before she planted a firm kiss on her forehead. As she pulled away, she inclined her head towards town. No matter how much she enjoyed Weiss's sudden display of affection, it didn't change the fact that they were both hungry.

Weiss snickered softly and muttered, "Bottomless pit…"

Neo swatted at the laughing girl, turned, and started to walk towards town.

"Do you even know where you're going?"

Neo kept walking while shaking her head in the negative.

"You're impossible!"

Weiss strode towards the small woman and grabbed her hand with a firm tug as she redirected Neo towards their destination. "This way…"

The two women walked together finding comfort in each other's silence and the still nighttime air. For a change, they weren't holding hands, but they both felt incredibly close to the other.

After a short walk, they arrived at _Le Chattelaine_. Neo shouldn't have been surprised that the heiress choose one of the classiest places in town, especially considering the generous gift she was currently wearing. While Neo felt a little uncomfortable in an establishment this nice, Weiss was obviously in her element. As they were escorted to their table, Weiss noticed with some delight, how many heads turned to take in the beautiful woman with the magnificent green eyes in the jade dress.

 _Yeah. That's my girlfriend_! Neo thought to herself as she caught sight of how many eyes were turning towards Weiss in her elegant white dress. She moved through the crowded restaurant as if she were skating through the crowd. Beautiful. Graceful. And apparently, oblivious to how many people in the room were captivated by her.

They took their seats, positioned across from each other. As they poured over their menus, Weiss trailed the soft silken upper of her slipper over Neo's lower leg. She softly caressed her as she tried to show Neo how interested she was in her and tried to offset any doubts she may have sown earlier in the evening.

Neo tried to enjoy the moment. Enjoy the sensual feeling of the cool fabric against her skin. Weiss was right with her jest earlier in the evening – Neo's thoughts immediately turned towards her plans for the heiress later that evening. While they might not be able to get away with all of the ideas Neo was mentally toying with, on account of being in a dorm with three other girls, one of which was a Faunus with exquisite hearing, she still thought they could have some fun together.

After their server took their orders, Weiss excused herself for a moment. As she left, she draped her arms over Neo's shoulders and gave her a small hug as she kissed the woman's right ear. Neo smiled at the feeling as Weiss's cool warmth lingered on her skin after she left.

The same movement was repeated a moment later, but instead of a kiss on her ear, she felt a pair of lips move against it as she heard a sing-song voice whisper, "Well, if it isn't my favorite little traitor. Have you missed me, Neopolitan?"

Neo's eyes went white at the sound of Cinder's voice.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this is late! NaNoWriMo is really kicking my ass and I need to hammer out about 3,300 words per day for the final 6 days of the month to finish this on time. It's doable, but really tight. I think I'm finally at the point of that novel where it's going to start flowing better (I'm out of the set up and into the main dramatic conflict I've been trying to get to).

Anyhow, Chapter 21 here was actually two really short chapters that I combined. I'm not sure if I'm going to try to post another one later today to make up for missing Wednesday or if this will be it until Monday. And, heads up ~ Wednesday's chapter next week might be delayed since Wednesday is the last day for NaNoWriMo and I'm hosting a last-minute-panic-session Write-In in the evening to try to finish up. Sorry! Once Wednesday's over and I can recover Thursday, we should be back to the normal 3x/week MWF schedule.

Thanks for reading and taking the time to follow / favorite this little piece of mine. I hope you stick around until the end!

Best,

~shdwmchn


	22. Associate

Chapter 22

As Weiss returned from the restroom, she saw a tall brunette draping herself over top of Neo in a wholly inappropriate and overly friendly manner. However, Neo's stiff body language told Weiss that she was not enjoying this woman's attention. The tactician in Weiss directed her to take a wide berth around their table, around the perimeter of the room, so she could approach Neo from the front. As she positioned herself and walked towards their table, Weiss was acutely aware of Neo's eyes. No longer the bright green of a few minutes ago, they were completely white; her expression was terrified. As she approached, she noticed that Neo had kicked her shoes off and had rolled her foot underneath her parasol. As Weiss took another step closer, Neo flicked the item towards Weiss with her foot and jammed a hard elbow back into the woman's midsection.

Weiss caught the parasol and gave the handle a twist to draw the blade. The grip and weight were completely different from Myrtenaster's, but she was going to have to make due.

Neo ducked forward as she made contact with her elbow and tried to roll away, but the taller woman tightened her grip and prevented her escape.

Weiss struck a defensive position as she withdrew the blade, poised and prepared to attack.

Cinder knew what Neopolitan was capable of, but she saw the armed white-haired girl as a more immediate threat that needed to be dealt with. She wrapped her fingers in Neo's hair and slammed her head into the table before stepping back and conjuring a glass bow and arrow from her dust stash. Weiss easily parried the phantasmal arrow and watched as the raven-haired woman closed her arms, causing the bow to disappear, and reopen them to conjure two wicked scimitars, one in each hand.

Weiss activated a series of glyphs as she leapt to give herself aerial platforms to use as she launched a rapid-fire attack against this obviously skilled warrior. Weiss chanced a look at Neo and hoped she was conscious and able to fight; _this isn't going to end well for me if she isn't._

Shaken, Neo tried to gather her senses and locate Cinder as she heard the muffled sounds of a fight through her daze. As she turned her head from side to side, she finally caught sight of Weiss as she launched herself through the air off one of her glyphs, diving headlong at Cinder. The light blade was not much match against Cinder's dual scimitars, but Weiss's proficiency in swordsmanship meant that she was giving the woman a much tougher battle than she was expected.

Neo took a couple quick steps and launched herself through the air in a flying side-kick. Her right leg fully extended and her left tucked up into a picture perfect position. The foot made contact with Cinder's ribs, but she failed to seriously injure her as the woman's aura absorbed the majority of the impact.

Cinder turned to try to figure out where the hit came from. To her dismay, Neo was clearly up and had joined in the fight, as she saw Neopolitan gracefully land. Neo went on the attack again as she stepped her left foot behind her right, planted it, and spun clockwise, to execute a strong follow-through spinning heel kick. Cinder tried to block it, but Neo tucked in her leg to avoid the block, and used her momentum to carry her through. As her right foot landed, she planted it and continued her spin with a left-footed instep roundhouse and simultaneously lashed out her right hand in a spinning back fist.

The onslaught proved an effective distraction as Weiss managed to get inside of Cinder's defenses and landed a straight on jab with the tip of the sword into Cinder's left side, just above the waist. Weiss felt the blade puncture skin and watched as a small stream of red blood began to run from the wound.

Cinder wheeled around to face Weiss, opening herself up for attack from Neo. With a step through side kick, Neo made contact with Cinder's right hip and knocked her off balance and send her to the ground. As Cinder fell, she rolled backwards and continued through until she planted her feet and used them to launch into a back flip to put some distance between her and her opponents. Cinder very soberly came to the realization that she was outmatched by her opponents and decided it would be best to end this fight before she ended up in custody, or dead. As it's best to live to fight another day, she clutched the bleeding wound at her waist and darted through the kitchen and vanished into the night through the service entrance.

Chasing after Cinder, but losing her as soon as she entered the alley, Weiss stomped her foot and muttered something not wholly appropriate for a Schnee as she realized that Cinder was going far too fast for her to catch. Angry at herself for losing the fiend, she stormed back into the dining room and picked up the parasol. She resheathed the sword and tossed the reassembled parasol to Neo with a quick 'thanks'. Neo's eyes were back to their normal pink and brown combination as she racked her brain trying to figure out why Cinder was here in Vale. Did Cinder manage to track her down? Should she be worried about this development? As she reached out to accept her parasol from Weiss, she was immensely thankful that the girl was with her; _I don't think I could take out Cinder on my own. Not now._

Weiss Looked around the restaurant and noticed it was far less crowded than when they entered; the staff was busy trying to pick everything up and return the dining room to some semblance of normalcy.

"Man, I'm going to have to leave a huge tip to make up for this…" Weiss muttered to herself. Their table was in complete disarray. She grabbed the upturned chair she was sitting in and took a seat, as if it merely fell over and she was continuing on with her evening. First of all, she was hungry and second, she didn't really want to leave yet; Ozpin probably already knew about this 'incident' and was preparing to question her as soon as she returned to Beacon. And currently Weiss had no answers for any of the questions she anticipated Ozpin would ask her.

Neo reclaimed her seat across from the silent, brooding Huntress-in-training. She reached out and took Weiss's hand, softly running her thumb in circles over the back of it. Weiss didn't move.

Without looking up, "Was that woman one of your _associates_?" Weiss practically hissed the last word. Neo wavered her hand a little before raising it above her head, palm parallel to the floor then raised her other hand above that one in a similar manner.

"She was above you?"

Neo lowered her hands, nodded, and turned her right hand, prodding Weiss to continue.

"She was the top one of your two hands?"

Another nod.

"She was calling Torchwick's shots?"

Neo nodded again.

"So, was she leaning over you to give you some sort of warning?"

She looked at Weiss and slowly drew a finger across her neck.

"Understandable… Considering where you are now, there's certainly the assumption that you could share whatever information you know about her."

The manager came over to the women's table and cleared his throat, "I'm sorry, ladies, but it seems as though the other patrons aren't exactly comfortable with you remaining after the earlier incident. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Wh.. WHAT? Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Ma'am, please leave or I'll have to request that the authorities, which are on their way, remove you."

Weiss was livid. She gritted her teeth in a twisted scowl and actually growled at the man as she stood and stomped away.

Neo simply shrugged before she followed her friend out. _I guess it's looking like noodles, after all._ When she caught up to Weiss, she could see the girl's barely contained rage, so she thought it would be best to just follow behind her. After they were a short distance away from the restaurant, Weiss spun around to face Neo.

"Can you believe that? _We_ chased that criminal rapscallion out of there. _We_ protected those people. And now _we_ have to leave? That is very not okay!" Weiss paced as she was talked. Neo had a hunch that it would be best to just nod in agreement as she let the girl vent and wear herself out before trying to proceed.

"I mean, honestly, it's not like _we_ provoked the incident." Weiss paused and thought for a moment, "Well, I kind of did by taking you away and bringing you to Beacon. But _they_ didn't know that! I mean…"

Neo decided that it was definitely best to just let Weiss wear herself out. As she looked around for a bench or somewhere else to sit, her eyes finally settled on a trio of benches at the edge of a small pocket park on the next block. She took Weiss's hand and guided the girl towards the park, intent on sitting rather than standing in the middle of the sidewalk with the ranting heiress.

"… And another thing,"

 _She's going to be at it for a while; we might as well get somewhat comfortable_. Neo took a seat off to one side of the bench, but Weiss kept pacing, apparently unwilling to be content until she's complained about everything. With a deep breath, Neo put her arms on the back of the bench, and let her head fall back as she stretched her legs out.

Neo's relaxed appearance apparently upset Weiss further, "How are you so relaxed? There was no reason at all to treat us like that."

Neo cocked her head to the right and raising an eyebrow to make it clear that she didn't agree with Weiss's claim. _The manager calmly asked us to leave and only at the behest of the other patrons_.

Neo sat up and reached out to Weiss, the girl accepted the offer as she sat down alongside her. "Ozpin's going to question us when we get back. He hammered Blake pretty hard the night she was at the docks and interrupted Torchwick and the White Fang while trying to steal another one of Schnee Dust Company's shipments." Weiss looked up to the sky, disappointed at the heavy cloud cover and lack of stars. "He's going to have a ton of questions that I have no idea how to answer."


	23. Debrief

A/N: Terribly sorry to have skipped Wednesday & Friday's updates. This past week was a bit rough ~ The end of NaNoWriMo (I wrote well north of 20,000 words for that project along with starting a new job on Monday and having meetings every night of the week just didn't give me time to edit this beast of a chapter.

A thousand apologies, oh patient ones! And now, with out any further ado ~ enjoy the nearly 2800 words of Chapter 23.

* * *

Chapter 23

"Thank you for meeting with us, ladies." Professor Ozpin began as he rose from his seat to welcome Neo and Weiss into his office. Professor Goodwitch was there as well, slightly behind Ozpin and off to his right. In front of his desk to the left, stood a tall, strikingly muscular man with a commanding militaristic bearing. He was bedecked in the white and grey uniform of the Atlesian military and wore the rank insignia of a General on his collar. Opposite the general was a beautiful woman, with long, white hair and icy blue eyes, in a heavily modified Atlesian uniform, save for the rank insignia on her right breast. Her eyes looked incredibly familiar to Neo.

"WINTER!" Weiss jumped up and ran towards the woman, stopping a couple meters short. "It is a pleasure to see you again, Sister. What brings you to Beacon?"

The taller woman looked down at the younger Schnee girl, "I see you are well, despite the events of this evening. But tell me, how could you be so careless as to leave the safety of this Academy without your weapon?"

Weiss meekly muttered something about Neo being armed and a great fighter as she looked down at her feet.

"So it would seem." Ozpin replied to her barely spoken statement. "It also seems, from the reports I have received, that this woman is the same one Ruby identified from the night of the dance."

Everyone else in the room turned to Ozpin at that statement.

"Neopolitan, this woman is the leader of your former faction, is she not?"

The small woman nodded.

"And it would seem as though she was not too happy about your new affiliation with the side opposite her. With good reason, I would assume."

"We need to stop her, Ozpin. While this wasn't an attack on Vale itself, she's becoming more combative and brazen." The General began. "We cannot afford to give her another opportunity!" He accented his statement by pounding a closed fist into his other hand.

"And so we shall." He looked around the room and let his gaze fall on Neo. "I believe we are finished her for now. Miss Neopolitan, do you think I could see you in private? As for everyone else, thank you for your time."

"Ozpin!" The General yelled at the same time Weiss began protesting, "But…"

"Thank you all for your time." Ozpin merely restated as he looked from the General towards the exit.

"Come now, Professor Ozpin has asked us to leave" Goodwitch said as she held out her arms and shepherded the group towards the elevator leading out of the office.

After a moment and a few more protests by Weiss and the General, only Neopolitan remained with Ozpin.

Ozping walked around his desk, motioned to a chair, and sat in the one opposite from it. Neopolitan shook her head as she took the proffered seat as her hair turned a dark, raven black and her eyes reverted to the green she wore for her date. In combination, it made her eyes far more striking, especially with the jade dress and its black stitching. She allowed her illusion to shimmer and shatter away, freeing up the energy used to hold the illusion so she could speak. There was a lot of information Ozpin needed to know.

"So?"

"It would seem as though Cinder is closer than we thought. I've seen her around the school wearing a Haven uniform, but I've taken steps to stay hidden and avoid her. I don't think she or her other accomplices have noticed me, despite how well the hair stands out in a crowd." Looking towards the shadows in the corners of the office, "How's Qrow?"

"He recently turned up. He's been pretty deep and wasn't able to communicate for a while. Although, I think you have him beat on that front. How long has it been now?"

"Almost seven years." Neopolitan calmly replied.

"I've been worried about you. Fortunately Weiss didn't kill you and Glynda had the good sense to accept Weiss's suggestion of offering you a chance to redeem yourself."

"Being tiny, cute, and trustworthy-looking has its advantages." Neo deadpanned.

"Let's not get too carried away. But more to the point, I trust you have quite a bit of information for me and we have very little time before your friend starts to worry about you."

Neopolitan shrugged as she began, "Honestly, even after seven years, I still don't know much. Cinder plays her cards incredibly close to the vest and I still don't know as much as I'd like. It wasn't easy essentially growing up in that organization. She demands absolute loyalty and severely punishes any failure or disobedience."

"I'm sorry to have put you in this situation."

"She killed my entire family; I was twelve and able to make the decision on my own. You merely offered me the opportunity to choose between coming to live at Beacon and playing spy and trying to infiltrate; her actions put me in this situation. And knowing what it would be like now, I still would have made the same choice."

Satisfied with her reply, Ozpin prompted her, "Let's start with the most important facts first."

Neopolitan collected her thoughts, let out a deep breath, and began her intel dump.

* * *

After about an hour, Neopolitan was finally wrapping up her initial report and was impatient to leave. _Weiss has to be absolutely freaking out by now_.

Ozpin took note of her becoming antsier in her desire to leave, so he wrapped up and concluded their meeting. "This has certainly been an enlightening conversation, Neopolitan. We owe you a great debt…"

"A debt I will call to collect on after this is over, I assure you."

Ozpin nodded solemnly as he gestured to the door, indication that she was free to leave.

With a thought and a shake of her head, Neo activated her illusion again and turned her hair back to its tri-color state and let her eyes take their familiar pink / brown orientation. With a slight bow of her head towards Ozpin, she moved a hand over her heart and extended it slightly in thanks. She wasn't sure where she would start looking for Weiss. She stepped into the elevator, pressed the button for the ground floor, and rode the long elevator in a comfortable silence as she hoped that she wasn't going to have to speak again for a very long time.

As the elevator reached its destination, Neo decided that she'd head straight to their dorm and enlist the help of the other girls if Weiss wasn't there. However, as the door opened, she saw Weiss and the woman Winter seated at one of the benches around the perimeter of the foyer.

Jumping from her seat and dashing across the room, Weiss launched herself into a dive at the woman and caught her in a tight hug. "Are you okay? You were up there for quite a while, is Ozpin upset? What happened?"

Neo hugged her friend tightly and started walking towards the exit as she shook her head 'no'. _Not now, Weiss…_

Winter stood and met the women on the way out. "Neo, I offer you my thanks for protecting my sister and for being a good…" Winter paused awkwardly, "… _friend_." She turned towards Weiss, "I will say nothing to Father or the family, but if what you told me is correct, I'm sure they already know." With a curt, shallow bow, Winter did a sharp about face and marched out ahead of them.

After Winter was out of earshot, Weiss began, "She nearly hit the roof when I told her that she was wrong and no one here judges me for being a lesbian."

Neo snapped her head towards Weiss, shocked at the casualness of her statement.

"She still doesn't approve of it, and she let me know it, multiple times, but at least she had the decency to be civil towards you." Weiss wrapped her arm around her girlfriend and they started towards their dorm. "I'm guessing Ozpin must have been pushing you for whatever you knew about her and her operations. We, Team RWBY that is, have been investigating Torchwick and the White Fang before you arrived, but tonight shows me that this is much bigger than that."

Neo nodded; her face grim.

"Well then, I think it's best to try to protect our team. We're not going to tell them about this puppet master woman over Torchwick pulling his strings. Instead, we'll just keep pulling at the thread in this more complex story that is Torchwick and the White Fang. _If_ we learn more and discover this woman in our investigation, then so be it, but for now, I think we should keep our focus more limited."

Neo agreed with Weiss and thought it was for the best. But her thoughts were still on Cinder. _She was here! At Beacon. Hiding in plain sight as a student from Haven. The Vytal Festival is great for encouraging cultural exchange, but even with the appearance of heightened security, ne'er-do-wells such as Cinder and her associates can still find enough laxness in the system to allow them an opportunity enact their plans_.

The pair finished their short walk in silence. Silence, which was immediately interrupted as soon as they entered their room.

"How was the happy couple's date? Do we need to give you girls some privacy for whatever post-date activities Weiss has planned for you?" Yang started as soon as they opened the door.

Blake rolled her eyes at the inquiry, knowing full well what sort of activities the blonde was interested in pursuing when the room was empty.

Ruby slightly blushed, but otherwise apparently taking the thought of Weiss and Neo somewhat better than she had before.

"It was mostly enjoyable, but I'm still a little hungry. We ended up at a noodle place."

"The one with the sushi bar?" Blake jumped in.

"No." Weiss snapped.

"What?"

"No. It wasn't A Wok In The Park, and even if it we did go there, we didn't bring any back for you."

"Ice Queen."

"Fish-munching Faunus."

"Hey! Stop teasing before someone says something mean and hurtful." Ruby interrupted their spat before Yang could jump in and escalate the situation.

"Fine." Blake and Weiss said in unison.

"So, umm… Do you guys want a little privacy?" Ruby tried to bring the conversation back to Yang's question.

"You little _dolt_! Do you really think I'm so easy that I'd put out on the first date?" Weiss shot back.

"Well… You did jump into bed together the same night that she tried to kill me." Yang offered.

"Yeah, but I only did that because Neo very nearly gave us a pun-free team. Completely different." Weiss jabbed at Yang. Then more seriously, "Goodwitch told me that I was responsible for her, I couldn't have her escaping the first night I was supposed to be keeping an eye on her. I even thought about just tying her to the bed."

Blake's ears perked up at that last statement from Weiss. _Why Weiss, you_ have _been reading some of my books, you naughty girl_? She looked at the girl from over top of the book she was working on.

"Fair enough. I guess." Yang conceded.

Catching Blake's golden eyes and knowing smile, Weiss averted her gaze and blushed a little.

"Yang?"

"Yes, Blake?"

"You owe me twenty Lien."

"But? How?" Yang protested.

"I'll tell you later."

Weiss's blush intensified as she could only guess what the BY pair were betting on. Fortunately, Ruby was oblivious to this particular conversation and Neo was so lost in her own thoughts, she had tuned out the remainder of RWBY after the question about the noodles.

"As delightful as this has been, I'm going to jump in the shower." Weiss said as she sat to pluck off her shoes.

"Get a little hot and bothered at dinner?"

"Yang, I'm seriously going to throw you out the widow if you don't stop."

"Reaow!" Yang replied as she made a scratching motion with her hand. "Guess Blake's not the only kitty with claws in this room."

"Whatever. Showering."

Weiss grabbed her toiletries as she headed into the bathroom to jump into the shower. _It's a shame that Neo isn't in here with me. She'd be able to get my back and rub out some of the tension_. Weiss pressed her right forearm into the wall and rested her head on her upper arm. She replayed the day in her mind, worried about that woman her and Neo fought. She was definitely bad news if she was Torrchwick's boss. But, how did she happen across Neo at the restaurant? How was Neo in Ozpin's office for so long after they returned? Did she really have that much information or did he just fire questions at her that she was unable to answer? At this point, Weiss thought it was best to not bring it up in front of the rest of her team. She'd have to wait until her and Neo were alone again to press the issue.

Almost as surprising as having her first real date ever ruined by getting into a massive fight was Winter. She expected her older sister's hostility when she admitted that Neo was her date when they were caught up in the fight. She even expected Winter's curt replies of "Classified" when pressed for details on what she was doing in Vale at Beacon. _What exactly was she doing here? General Ironwood had been on campus since the beginning of the semester, but Winter hadn't been with him then. Why had she suddenly shown up? Why now?_

The stream of questions started to give her a headache. The fact that she barely ate didn't help matters either. Weiss circled her fingers against her temples as the water splashed against her; she pleaded that the dull ache didn't turn into a full migraine.

With one last rinse, Weiss shut off the water, hopped out, and did what she needed to before returning to their room.

Blake had come down from her bed and was in Yang's; she leaned against the blonde's shoulder, still reading her novel. Neo hadn't moved from where she was when Weiss left and Ruby was at her desk, surprisingly, studying. She looked closer at Ruby and noticed faint streaks on the girl's face and a slight reddish tinge in her eyes.

Unusual for Weiss, she grabbed one of her two sets of casual clothes from the bottom of her closet shelf and pulled them on. She quickly dressed and kissed Neo's cheek, before whispering in her friend's ear, "I think there's something wrong with Ruby, I'm going to see if she wants to go out and talk for a bit."

Neo was caught a bit by surprise at Weiss's sudden appearance, but quickly regained her composure and nodded her understanding.

Weiss tapped Ruby gently on the shoulder and caught the girl's attention. "Hey Ruby. I'm still really hungry, do you think you'd like to head over to the dining hall with me for a little while?"

The girl wiped her cheeks quickly, she hoped Weiss didn't notice her tearstains, as she bolted upright and energetically replied "Yeah! Dinner with my BFF!"

Weiss rolled her eyes but smiled at the girl, nonetheless, "C'mon… _Dunce._ "

Neo didn't have much else she could do right now, so she decided to jump in the shower and get ready for bed. As she gathered her things, Yang called after her, "Hey Neo! Do you think that you could make your shower last, oh I don't know, at least a half hour?" Blake gently elbowed her partner in the ribs. Neo smiled and walked over to the pair, took both of their hands, and put them together. She squeezed the girls' clasped hands in her own as she nodded her affirmative reply and gave the pair a knowing wink.

As soon as she closed the bathroom door, Neo immediately turned the water on to give the pair in the bedroom a little more privacy. _Weiss said something about Ruby seeming unhappy – I wonder if it has anything to do with Weiss and I, as well as her sister and Blake, starting relationships with each other. Maybe she feels left out? Or abandoned by both her partner and her sister? Poor girl. I should find a way to bond with her. Try to be a friend_.

Neo didn't rush her thoughts though. She planned to give the couple on the other side of the door plenty of time for their activities.


	24. Leader

Chapter 24

"How've things been, Ruby?

"Oh, you know… They're fine. Kind of miss my friends back at Signal. Wondering how Dad and Uncle Qrow have been. Still trying to come up with a plan to deal with Torchwick and the White Fang. Practicing with Crescent Rose. Just the normal stuff, really."

"Oh." Weiss hesitated, unsure if she should press on. In the end, she decided she had to. "It's just that you seem kind of, well, not okay."

"Psshhsst! Nah. I'm totally fine. Nothing wrong at all!"

"Ruby, no matter what happens, I'm still your partner. Your friend. And no matter what, I'll always be here for you."

"I know, Weiss. You're a good person, I can feel it. I've been able to feel it for a while now… Sure, things were a bit rocky for us at the beginning, but I always thought that you and I were going to become BFFs."

"Speaking of, it seems like Yang and Blake have been getting even closer lately."

"Yeah." Ruby stated dejectedly.

"That's good for them, right?" Weiss tried again.

"Yeah, I guess so. I mean, we should support whatever makes them happy, right?"

"Okay, Ruby, seriously, what is wrong? I know that you're not exactly enthusiastic about Neo and me dating. And now, Blake and Yang seem to have a thing going on. I just want to make sure that you know that we're all still here for you."

Without a word, Weiss took Ruby's hand and they walked in silence for a little while. The two girls strode into the dining hall, side by side, and began picking out their food, but still, Ruby didn't let go. It wasn't until they took their normal seats that Ruby finally released her partner's hand.

"Thanks Weiss."

"For what?"

"Being here for me. Letting me know that you're here for me. For being my partner."

"I want you to know that I'm sorry about, well, not coming to terms with my feelings or who I am sooner; the fact that I hurt you because of it."

"Weiss! You didn't hurt me. I'm strong; I drink milk!"

"I know. You really are, Ruby. Even if I didn't hurt you, at the very least, I feel like I disappointed you." Weiss absently looked around the room as she tried to form her next statement as carefully as possible. "For so long, it was just me and Winter. She did everything she could to try to mold me into the perfect Schnee daughter she felt she couldn't be. To ensure that I was the perfect little heiress everyone expected me to be. You're my first real friend, Ruby… I didn't understand my feelings, thought I was confused. I didn't know what it was like to have a friend, so, while I was falling in love, I just thought that was what friendship was like. Then my feelings grew stronger, I thought they weren't completely appropriate ~ you know how Winter tried to convince me that feeling this way about another girl was so wrong ~ and I worried what you, and to a lesser extent, the others, would think if I acted on something that was so wrong."

Weiss wrapped her left arm around Ruby and rested her head on the girl's shoulder. "You'll always be my best friend, my partner, and my first crush. But more importantly, you'll always be the inspiring leader of our team who ensures we're all happy and striving to be the best we can be." She gave the girl a chaste kiss on the cheek before she turned her attention to the pile of food in front of her and begged the universe that it would satiate her better than that evening's noodles did.

"And you guys say I'm the dork on the team." Ruby teased.

"Don't be a pest! I'm trying to bond with you!"

"Looks more like you're about to bond with your food."

Weiss pushed away from her leader and booped Ruby on the nose before she returned her attention to the plate in front of her.

Compared to the past week, the two were suddenly quite relaxed in each others' company. After a few minutes of devouring their food, they slipped back into their pre-Neo status quo: Ruby babbling away about everything that she thought of as soon as it popped into her head, while Weiss pretended to be utterly disinterested, but secretly hung on Ruby's every word.

As Ruby chattered away about some new modifications she saw for the Mech suits they fought against, Weiss took in the girl and slipped into her own thoughts. _This adorable little dolt! No matter what happens, she'll always be there for me, for all of us, and have our backs. I don't know what I ever did to deserve such unquestioning loyalty but, if someone as kind and innocent as Ruby thinks I do, who am I to question?_

After some time, they decided that they should return to their dorm and run through their evening routines. The pair stopped by the counter on their way out to pick up a couple pieces of fruit for their teammates and began their trip back to the dorm.

As they stepped out of the cafeteria, Weiss pulled Ruby into a long hug and kissed the girl on the forehead. "I love you, Ruby." She didn't know why she said it, only that it felt right. She felt something stronger for this girl than she ever had for anyone else. One of the only people that would be there for her, no matter what. She would never ask for anything nor would she make any unrealistic demands. She was just being, as Ruby would say, her BFF.


	25. Tickles

Chapter 25

Neo sat under the water, slightly grudging the fact that she didn't have a scroll or clock in the bathroom, as she tried to estimate if she had been in there for at least a half hour. She tried to run through her head how long she had been there and if she should wait a bit longer when there came a gentle rapping at the door.

"Umm, hey… Neo? It's been like, an hour. Are you okay in there? I mean, I'm a bit worried that you might have turned into a little tri-colored raisin." Yang inquired.

 _Well, at least that solves that_. Neo stood up as she turned off the faucets, grabbed her towel and, as she began drying herself off, looked at her hands and realized that Yang's fear wasn't completely unfounded. _Oh well, it was a good deed for a good cause. The sexual frustration between Blake and Yang was stifling when we got back. I can't believe that Ruby or Weiss weren't completely crushed under its weight_.

She caught sight of herself in the mirror as she pulled on her pajamas and smiled. _It's going to take me so long to get over the whole 'shower and clean clothes whenever I want' thing_. With a satisfied sigh, Neo wrapped her hair in a towel and returned to the bedroom. As she started to put her stuff away, she heard a few giggles from the BY side of the room. With a quick glance towards the couple, she saw a mop of blonde hair buried into the side of Blake's neck as the fingers on her left hand tickled the Faunus on her stomach. With a wicked grin, Neo decided that it looked like they were having far too much fun; and she was feeling a little playful herself.

Silently padding towards the pair, Neo saw Blake's eyes open and fix upon her. She held her fingers over her lips, trying to tell Blake to stay quiet. Barely noticeable, the Faunus nodded just once. As Neo came within striking distance, she coiled her body into a lunge and hurtled herself at the blonde. With both hands, she found purchase on Yang's obliques and began to mercilessly tickle-attack her ribs.

Yang jumped at the shock of two more hands on her, and Blake seized the opportunity to turn the tides. She partnered with Neo and tickled Yang at the waist with one hand and behind a knee with the other.

Between gasps for air and laughs, Yang yelled out, "Fiends! This aggression will not stand!" as she wrapped up the two smaller women and threw herself forward, pulling the trio off the bed.

"Neo – get her hands!"

She rolled from Yang's grasp and tried to scurry up the blonde's body. Neo draped herself across the girl's flailing arms, as she attempted to gain control of them. Unfortunately, Yang was incredibly fit and a fair bit stronger; using her size and strength over her attackers, she began to make her way to a seated position.

Neo, with a sudden idea, grabbed the hem of Yang's shirt and yanked it off over her head as she twisted the fabric to try to ensnare the raging girl's arms. Her ploy worked and she managed to gain control of the arms while Blake continued to assail the girl's now bare ribs.

"Gaahh! NO more! I surrender!" Yang laughed under the onslaught. "Surrender!"

"Oh, so _now_ you've had enough?"

The girls were on the floor laughing together, Neo still behind Yang with the girl's arms pinned in her twisted shirt and Blake sitting in front of her, hands on the buxom brawler's body when Ruby and Weiss opened the door and entered the room; freezing in place at the sight before them.

"Eep!" Ruby squeaked out as she covered her face, and turned a bright, crimson red at the sight of her topless sister with two girls.

"Neopolitan! Seriously, I leave for an hour to have dinner with my friend and this is what I come back to?" Weiss winked at the horrified woman to indicate her jest as she continued, "And you two. It's bad enough that you're doing these _things_ with my poor, innocent, girlfriend in the room, now you're trying to get her involved in whatever incredibly hot things Blake spends her days reading and fantasizing about. How will I ever survive such betrayal at the hands of my teammates?" Weiss dramatically threw her head back and cocked her arm, forearm across her forehead.

Ruby was still frozen in embarrassment, she hadn't moved at all. Weiss threw her arms around the girl and pulled Ruby against her, hugging her tight, "At least I still have Ruby! Innocent and uncorrupted, she would never betray me so!"

Yang finally managed to twist her arms free and pulled her top back down as she jumped in, "Geez, Ice Queen… We should probably start calling you the Drama Queen!"

"Oh, I'm sorry… Am I supposed to be happy that the pair of you are trying to seduce my girlfriend?"

"Actually, it was Neo that pulled her shirt off." Blake chimed in with a grin. "I think she just wanted to see what I get to see."

Neo tried to feign an outraged gasp and strode over to Weiss. She looked at her with sad, puppy-dog eyes.

Weiss sighed; she was helpless against such a sight. "Did Ruby teach you how to do that?"

With an innocent shrug, Neo stood on tiptoes to give Weiss a kiss over top of Ruby as she wrapped the hugging pair into a hug of her own.

With the tension in the room mostly abated, everyone, even Ruby, noticeably relaxed.

With the joke winding down, Weiss assumed her normal 'all business' demeanor and turned the topic back to the far more pressing problem before them. "So," Weiss began, "What's our next move?"

"Well, so far as we can tell, we broke up the White Fang's operation with Torchwick in the Southeast and foiled whatever they planned to do from that base. Since Torchwick's in Ironwood's custody, I'd say that we should really focus on the White Fang. Maybe see if they're going to try to continue whatever was planned, even without him around?" Blake's voice rose at the end of her sentence, somewhat unsure about her proffered suggestion.

"Has anyone heard anything at all from Ironwood or the Atlesian army if they've managed to get any information out of Torchwick?" Yang asked generally, but moreso towards Weiss, given her sister's military career.

"I haven't heard anything. Winter didn't say anything about Torchwick the last time I saw her, but maybe I can try to see if she knows anything." After a moment's thought, "Anything that's not ' _Classified_!', that is."

Ruby absently rubbed her chin as she tentatively offered the only bit of new information she had, "Well, Penny told me something about General Ironwood telling her that she needed to prepare for an upcoming war. But since we're in a time of peace, I really didn't understand what she was talking about. Maybe we should try to figure out what Ironwood thinks is going to happen?"

Weiss tried to think through what fragmented and seemingly unconnected bits of information they had. "I'll ask Winter about that as well." Turning towards Blake, she continued, "Blake? You and Sun were both seen at the White Fang meeting, so it's unlikely that you'll be able to get into another one, right?"

Drawing her lips into a tight line, Blake lowered her head and shook it at Weiss's assessment.

"I'd hate to drag Velvet into this… Maybe I'll talk to Coco and see what she thinks…" Weiss continued, "Since Sun and Neptune have connections in Vacuo and Mistral, maybe they've heard something about any preparations for war or anything unusual within their kingdoms?"

The other four girls expressed their agreement and began discussing options for how they could start on the next phase of their investigation.

"Hey, Rubes ~ any idea what this week's field trip will be?" Yang asked her sister.

"No. Not yet. Ozpin normally doesn't give any info to the team leaders before Wednesday."

"Okay. Well, it looks like we have a few more days to find some new information and come up with a few options so we're ready for Friday." Weiss offered as she concluded their brainstorming session.

Almost immediately, Blake and Yang started talking about heading into Vale to check out a movie. After a few moments of discussion, Ruby jumped in and started offering suggestions she wanted to see. Another couple of minutes later, the trio had settled on an option and headed out, saying they'd be back in a few hours.

As the door closed and locked shut, Neo cocked an eyebrow at her girlfriend.

Weiss blushed slightly. "Neo, it smells kind of, umm, sweaty and musky in here. You… You weren't really doing anything with those two, were you?"

With a sweet smile, Neo shook her head. She reached down and picked her damp towel off the floor and handed it to Weiss as she pointed towards the BY side of the room's beds then off to the bathroom and pointed to the towel.

Weiss thought about Neo's pantomime for a quick second and translated, "You wanted to give them a little privacy, so you took a shower and they made use of the time?"

Neo nodded at Weiss's summation.

"So, when you got out, you and Blake decided to attack Yang and things just got a little, weird?"

Another nod.

"Yeah, that happens with her… Given Ruby's reaction, I'm pretty sure she walked into a bad flashback of the last time a tickle-fight erupted in this room. It was bad. Two-on-two turned into everyone against Ruby until she used her Semblance to bolt out of the room. And then it turned into Blake and me versus Yang. Every time we managed to get a hand on her, she somehow managed to wriggle away, leaving us holding another piece of her clothing. Eventually, she wasn't wearing anything and Blake and I were just trying to pin her down to get her to stop. Then Ruby came back…"

Neo thought it was hilarious, but nevertheless, definitely saw how it could be traumatic for the young team leader to see her older sister in an, admittedly, compromising situation.

She took the towel back from Weiss and hung it over the back of their desk chair when she felt Weiss wrap her arms around her waist. Weiss pressed herself into Neo's back, let her hands start to caress Neo's sides, and started to kiss her on the back of the neck and over her shoulders.

"We do have a few hours to ourselves…" Weiss said in a breathy tone.

Neo reached down and covered Weiss's hands with her own. She pulled the girl's hands apart from around her waist and guided them down to her hips and nodded slowly.

* * *

A/N: Things are getting a bit steamy in RWBY's dorm!

Well, I've had a couple of people question the past few chapters.

1.) Weiss is just really trying to be a better friend to Ruby.

2.) Yeah, in my world, Neo can talk ~ but here's why she doesn't: You've noticed that she only did when her hair was black and eyes green. You've also noticed, that when she's under significant emotional stress, her eyes flash colors. When Neo infiltrated Cinder's faction, she knew that she couldn't speak to give anything away, so to ensure she didn't, she used her illusion semblance to change her hair and eyes. The amount of concentration it took to do so limited her ability to speak ~ a win / win for her (disguise plus the silence she needed). By allowing the illusion to fully dissipate (when she shook her head to break the illusion in Ozpin's office), she's no longer allocating the mental resources to maintain it, so she regains her ability to speak. It's pretty weird and kind of out there, but I thought it was a cool reason why she doesn't speak...


	26. Firsts

Chapter 26

 _Gods! She really wants to do this and we actually have time! I'm so nervous, though. She knows this will be my first time, so she'll be gentle and patient, right? But the way she pounced on me before and held me down… That was so hot… Gah! I don't know what I want. Maybe if I just keep holding her like this we won't have to let things go any further?_

"Neo?" Weiss was even more nervous than she thought she would be. A gentle hand caressed her cheek as she said her friend's name. Weiss cautiously opened her eyes, and when she saw Neo's, she was pleasantly surprised that the woman let her eyes return to their incredible shade of green.

"You've done this before. Right?"

Neo shook her head 'negative' as she grinned widely at white-haired girl and gestured to Weiss before raising her index finger in a 'one' gesture.

"Wait. What?" Weiss was surprised by Neo's revelation. _Okay, I'm almost certain that neither Yang nor Blake came to Beacon innocent, and Neo is definitely more attractive than those two, and probably at least as old as them as well, how is it that_ I'm _going to be her first? Surely, Neo deserves someone that knows what they're doing_.

Neo smiled at the sight of Weiss completely over-analyzing that new bit of information. The poor girl; she was an heiress born into privilege with everything she ever needed handed to her. Except for friends and relationships. As much as Neo knew that she shouldn't be surprised, she still was, at least a little bit. Sure, the girl hid who she really was for years, but still, she thought that there could have been some opportunity for her to explore her feelings and desires.

Neo pressed her hand into Weiss's chest and guided her girlfriend to their bed.

"Neo, if I say 'stop', please don't stop."

That request shocked Neo; it clearly showed on her face.

"I, umm, well, I read some of Blake's books… And, well, the idea is that it's freeing. You're doing things and by saying 'stop' you're fighting against it, but you really want it to happen. So, it's a kind of act or a game. But if I say something like "Ninjas", that's a codeword for you to actually stop."

Neo thought it was a great idea, and wanted to explore Weiss's kinkier side, but she knew it wasn't a good idea, right now, for their first time. With a shake of her head, Neo tapped her wrist and made a sweeping gesture towards a point away from them.

"Okay. Later then." Weiss conceded. "I really want this. But, you should know, I just don't know how to do it well. Or at all, really…"

Neo motioned for Weiss to get on the bed and waited for the girl to sit before straddling her lap. With a handful of long, white hair, she gently pulled Weiss's head back and started to trail kisses up her neck, over her jaw, and finally, met her lips. Small pecks at first quickly transitioned to more passionate displays of affection as both women ran their hands all over each other's sides and backs, each occasionally chanced a more bold move over the other's backside or breasts. These small, fleeting touches left them wanting more and more.

As Weiss grew comfortable with Neo's touches over her more private areas, she began to encourage her to linger a little longer; mostly by holding Neo's hands in place as they cupped her breasts or gave her a squeeze on the bottom. Neo's enthusiastic explorations encouraged her own boldness as she began to caress Neo's body in a similar manner.

Neo hooked her thumbs under the hem of Weiss's shirt and slowly pulled it upward. She gave the girl ample time to stop her if she was uncomfortable, but as Weiss didn't do so, she continued all the way. Weiss raised her arms and let Neo slip the garment off. Neo enjoyed the sight of Weiss's small breasts contained behind a delicate, lace bra, as the skin of her upper chest and neck flushed in excitement and anticipation. Neo traced her fingertips all over the flesh she just exposed, letting her nails occasionally scrape against it. Letting her head roll forwards, towards Weiss's neck, she nipped at the skin where the heiress's neck and shoulder met; followed by a kiss before nipping again, all the way up the left side of her neck before she paused to lick the girl's earlobes.

Weiss made a small noise with each bite Neo planted on her. It wasn't too painful, nor did it feel bad. It was a sensation she never experienced before, though. Every time Neo's mouth pulled away, she craved the woman even more. She dug her fingers into Neo's ribs and pulled her close every time they parted.

Neo loved how Weiss was acting. How she practically begged for more.

With a deft movement, Neo slipped her hand under Weiss's bra strap and squeezed the fabric on either side of the clasp together, let the clasp unhook, and released the strap. Both girls froze. They had showered together and they both knew what the other looked like naked, but this was the first time that one undressed the other in such a provocative manner.

With a deep breath, Weiss nodded to herself as she rolled her shoulders forward to encourage the bra to fall off. She started to blush as she averted Neo's admiring eyes.

"I know I'm not as impressively built as Yang, or even Blake or Ruby…"

Neo cut her off with a finger pressed against Weiss's lips. She gave those perfect breasts a squeeze then hunched down and began to kiss circles around each. Satisfied with the way that Weiss's nipples hardened under her lips, she guided Weiss onto her back and propped herself up on an elbow alongside the girl. She absently caressed Weiss's well-defined abs, conditioned from her long, intense training sessions over the years. Her eyes flashed pink due to her intense emotions before returning to the vivid green Weiss liked so much. With her girlfriend now half-naked in front of her, breath heavy in anticipation, passionate desire threatened to overtake her.

The light fingertip caresses turned to harder strokes with nails dragging and went lower and lower; Neo's hands came to rest against the waistband of Weiss's pants.

"Those are definitely in the way, you should probably make them go away."

With an amused smirk, Neo happily complied with Weiss's attempt at being forward. She unhooked the clasp at the waistband and drew the zipper down; Weiss lifted her hips to make it easier to slide the offending garment off. Neo reached under the girl and grabbed the back of the waistband and slipped them over Weiss's curvy backside before moving to slide the front and sides of the slacks down from her feminine hips. With the pants now half off, Neo ran her hands down the girl's legs and took a handful of fabric just above each heel and yanked them completely off. Neo slid her hands across the girl's legs, up and down, front, sides, and back, Neo pressed them apart and began to kiss her way up Weiss's right leg.

When she made it up to the girl's thigh, she returned to her pattern of kisses and nibbles interspersed with each other. Weiss reached down and took two large handfuls of Neo's long, multihued hair and wrapped it around her hands. She impatiently tried to guide her girlfriend's head to a much more sensitive spot, but Neo firmly resisted, intent on teasing Weiss into oblivion, if possible. With a hand on Weiss's stomach, Neo moved her lips towards Weiss's panties as she kissed her way along, but skipped over the fabric-covered spot and kissed her lower abdomen.

"Lower." Weiss gasped.

Neo nodded her understanding, but again skipped over the fabric and kissed Weiss's other thigh. Between her kisses and Weiss's frustration, Neo finally slipped her hand downward and let it come to rest over Weiss's panties. She pressed her hand into the damp fabric and felt the girl's heat rise from underneath and. With a loving smile towards her partner, she began moving her palm in slow circles.

Weiss moaned at the sensation.

Neo sat up and motioned for Weiss to roll over. Grudgingly, having finally started to get what she wanted, Weiss complied. Neo crawled up and straddled Weiss's bottom and began massaging the girl's back from her neck down and over her the top of her backside. Touching Weiss's muscles was beyond arousing for Neo. She couldn't believe that just any 'spoiled little heiress' would have dedicated her life to the intense training to become a Huntress. The girl's dedication and passion turned Neo on even more than the flawless body she was now exploring.

With that realization, Neo realized she too was impatient and that she didn't want to keep teasing anymore. She wanted to pleasure her girlfriend before they ran out of time.

Neo dismounted Weiss and laid alongside her; she took her right hand and draped it across Weiss. She raked her fingertips down Weiss's right side. Neo then took the girl by her right thigh and slid her leg up so it was perpendicular to her hip. _That should provide adequate access_! Neo thought to herself. She ran her hand over the back of Weiss's thigh and slid her hand over top of the girl's panties and began caressing her. It didn't take long before Weiss began to moan again. Neo knew that was her cue; she pulled Weiss's panties down and threw them to the bottom of their bed and promptly returned her hand to the spot it was wanted.

Weiss was warm underneath Neo's hand and delightfully slick. It was a feeling Neo knew well from her solo activities and hoped that Weiss would respond to some of the same things that she found pleasurable.

Neo placed her index and middle fingers on either side of Weiss's clit and softly squeezed it between them. Next, she slowly started to slide those fingers up and down the length of her girlfriend's labia, all the way down to the spot both women wanted Neo to explore. She was concerned that she was moving too fast; but from the girl's wetness, she was pretty certain that she wasn't. Wanting to keep going, Neo started to circle a fingertip against Weiss's vagina.

Weiss moaned out "Please…" and "Don't stop…"

Neo brushed Weiss's long white hair away from her neck and kissed it as her right hand continued its work. She found a comfortable rhythm where she would slide a fingertip in then pull back, caress along her labia to her clit before circling her fingers around and repeating, she felt Weiss begin to thurst her hips in cadence with the motion of her hand.

Neo was certain that it wasn't going to take much to get Weiss off from this point, so she quickened her pace and slid further and further inside until Weiss was accepting an entire finger. With her middle finger inside Weiss, she flicked her index finger more and more rapidly back and forth over Weiss's clitoris. Before long, the walls of Weiss's vagina began to contract against Neo's finger. She didn't want to ruin this for Weiss, so she didn't change her pace or pressure; just kept doing what she was. If Weiss wanted to, she could adjust the pressure by pressing harder or more gently against Neo's hand.

Weiss's breaths came deeper and faster; small moans escaped from her lips at every exhalation.

"Neo… It's going to happen…" Weiss was practically panting. "Don't stop. Please… I think I'm al…" Weiss's last word was cut off by a series of waves of intense pleasure shooting throughout her body. Neo's fingers continued their task, as she tried to ensure Weiss got every last bit of pleasure she possibly could from of her first time.

As her body shook, Weiss buried her face in her pillow and bit down on the down-filled sack as the volume of her moans rose louder and louder as her orgasm overtook her. She couldn't think straight; she couldn't feel anything other than spasms running through her, she didn't want anything other than for this to never stop. But it had to. Her spasms became further apart and her breathing returned to normal.

Neo finally stopped the movement of her hand, but she let it rest between Weiss's legs, cupping her soft mound. She held her hand still, but continued to kiss her girlfriend.

Weiss turned her head to face Neo and kissed the girl passionately. As Neo touched the girl's face, it felt damp, which made Neo open her eyes to see why. Weiss's face was covered in sweat and her normally perfect bangs were plastered against her skin. Neo snickered internally at the sight, happy she couldn't make a sound. She knew Weiss wouldn't respond well to being laughed at right now. Then she noticed the tears that ran from the corners of her eyes.

Neo pulled back and broke their kiss to tap Weiss's shoulder. Weiss responded by burying her face into Neo's chest as she cried. The girl's muffled voice came from between Neo's breasts "I'm sorry Neo, I don't know what's happening or why I'm crying. It's just… I don't even know. So much emotion that I can't handle."

Neo held Weiss close and smiled as she remembered her first orgasm. It was a lot like Weiss's reaction. She held her tight until the girl regained her composure. As Weiss regained control of her emotions, she realized with a start that Neo was still completely clothed.

"I guess we should get you out of those clothes so I can repay the good time you just gave me."

Neo wasn't sure how much time they spent already, but more importantly, she wanted tonight to just be about Weiss. She shook her head and tapped her wrist again to indicate that it was getting late. They had time and could wait until next time for that. Reluctantly, Weiss agreed. Satisfied that Weiss was satisfied, Neo helped her gather up her clothes and get dressed.

The pair kissed again and turned their attentions to their routines of turning in for the night.


	27. Falling

Chapter 27

The pair continued their routine with equal measures of satisfaction and happiness as they moved through their shower and into studying for the coming week. When their teammates finally returned from the movie, the trio stood outside the door, rather loudly discussing the movie. After about a minute, a frustrated Weiss yanked the door open, "We're not doing anything in here other than studying and getting ready for bed, you don't have to stand in the hallway practically yelling and disturbing our classmates."

Blake rolled her eyes and passed a 20-Lien card to Yang, who accepted her winnings with a smug smile.

"You know what, I don't even want to know you two _pests_ are betting on now."

"See, I knew that you couldn't _chill out_ , even if you are the Ice Queen!" Yang said, ignoring Weiss's previous comment.

With a huff, Weiss spun around and returned to the history book on her desk. Neo was on their bed, flipping through her copy of the same text.

Blake turned to Neo and gently pressed her, "We didn't go see that awful movie for nothing, did we?"

Neo feigned ignorance as she plastered on her most innocent-looking face at what the Faunus girl was implying before she flashed a quick wink and smile, unseen by the other women.

Blake silently replied with a small smirk.

Ruby had taken up a spot right next to Weiss and eagerly explained, in excruciating detail, all of the cool weapons showcased in the movie. Neo watched the pair, happy to see the two friends on far friendlier terms and that Ruby had returned to her normal overly energetic self and took it as her mission to pester Weiss whenever she could. Neo was amused that the two girls, very opposite each other, were such easy friends. _I wonder how Ruby finally did it. How she got Weiss to open up. It must have been a pretty rough beginning for them…_

Blake had gathered a couple of her books while Neo was thinking to herself. The Faunus slowly lowered herself into the bed alongside Neo and leaned in close to the woman. "She'll never admit it, but Weiss likes to sneak my novellas and read them. Considering that it hasn't been just once, I'm guessing she likes them… These ones seem to be her favorites," Blake held out the pile and let Neo read the titles, "Feel free to read them for inspiration any time." Blake slipped the books onto the top shelf, closest to Neo and Weiss's bed. Neo felt her self flush at the thought of Weiss reading the type of steamy erotica that Blake was into.

"Weiss?"

"Yes, Blake?"

"Your girlfriend is really warm. Do you think I can snuggle her for a bit of warmth? You know, offset some of the iciness in the room!"

"Will you and your girlfriend stop trying to make a move on my girlfriend!" Weiss shouted as she whipped her chair around.

With a frown thrown at the heiress, Blake pouted and stuck her tongue out at her. "You're no fun. I'm sure Neo wouldn't have minded sharing her warms."

Neo impulsively took a chance and did something incredibly risky. She reached up and started to run her fingers through Blake's hair, moving closer and closer to the Faunus ears she kept hidden with her bow. Blake reached up and untied the bow while tipping her head towards Neo. Neo saw that as her cue to continue; she stated to scratch at the base of her ears and softly took one between her fingers. The fur was velvety soft. Neo smiled as Blake started making a rumbling noise.

"Okay you two. That's probably enough now. Stop making my girlfriend purr!"

Ruby dropped her head into her hands and shook it. _Only a little more than three years of living with these four. Unless we all stay together as a team after graduation. Or one of the couples have a bad, really bad, brake up. That wouldn't be awkward at all. Fortunately, as the fearless leader of Team RWBY, I'm fearless! Besides, it's up to me to keep this team functioning, no matter what's happening in their personal lives_.

A pillow flew across the room from Yang's bed and smacked both Blake and Neo. Neo pulled away in shock from Blake as the Faunus flew towards the blonde, tackling her out of her bed. There were some shouts and grunts as the pair seemed to be legitimately fighting one another. Neo was actually a little surprised at how aggressively they were going after each other. Weiss had told her about some of the epic fights Ruby and Yang got into but she never mentioned that it was something the others did as well.

"Will you two knock it off, some of us are trying to study!" Weiss shouted to be heard over their fight.

"Guys, she's right. Maybe you should stop." Ruby added.

The brawling pair was oblivious to the pleas of their teammates and, apparently, enjoyed going blow for blow with one another. While neither started using their Semblances yet, Neo was afraid their fight could escalate to that point rather easily. She defensively pulled her legs up to her chest as she backed herself into the corner on her bed.

"Oh, don't worry. They'll wear themselves out pretty soon." Ruby tried to assure the woman.

Neo decided to take the girl's word for it, after all, if Weiss could go back to studying, she must not be that worried, so Neo reasoned that it probably wasn't as bad as it looked.

After another few minutes, the fighting became less intense and the sweat-soaked, winded pair settled against one another as exhaustion started to set in.

"You two are going to take a shower, aren't you? I can smell you from over here, and frankly, I don't want to have to smell it all night." Weiss's annoyance was hardly concealed.

Neo couldn't smell anything. _Gods… What did Weiss's sensitive nose think of me the first time we met?_

With a few laughs, Blake and Yang slipped into the bathroom, as they whispered to each other and giggled while Yang scratched the base of Blake's Faunus ears. Ruby had leapt onto her bed a moment beforehand and was already softly snoring. As Yang pulled the door shut, Weiss set her book aside and stretched her arms out with a long yawn.

Weiss turned out the desk lights and the ones on their side of the room before she jumped into bed and pressed herself against Neo, left arm and leg draped over the small woman. Neo wriggled underneath the girl's limbs to get comfortable and snuggle up to her.

Neo didn't want to think about the reality of Cinder still being out there, hunting her, so she distracted herself with the sensations from being in bed with her girlfriend: the weight of Weiss's limbs across her body, the sound of the girl's breathing, the drum of her heartbeat, the scents of the girl's shampoo and body wash, and the intoxicating feeling of falling in love.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the delay. I recently started a new job for the State and part of it is plowing snow / ice ~ and we've had a lot this past week. So, with the overtime and preparing for the holidays, I've had some issues keeping up with my editing. I'm hoping this week allows me to get a little ahead ~ as of right now, there's no real severe weather in the forecast, so I'll do what I can to edit a pile of chapters to stay on track.


	28. Goofballs

Chapter 28

The instant Weiss's alarm went off, at seven the following morning, the bed above her and Neo swung on its ropes as Ruby bolted towards the bathroom. With her short hair and simple routine, she hated getting stuck behind the other girls, especially Yang. Weiss shook her head, sympathetic to the redhead, knowing how many fights have erupted throughout the past semester and a half over trying to get into the bathroom before the blonde.

"Neo, do you think we can spar after class?"

Neo shrugged slightly before nodding.

"Okay. I'm going to message Winter and have her come by. We can show her what a skilled warrior you are and, maybe, we can get some information out of her." With a wink towards Neo, Weiss finished, "And _maybe_ we can convince her to take us out for dinner on her Schnee Dust Company credit card!"

Neo liked the thought of free food, especially after a challenging fight with Weiss, but she wasn't enthusiastic about the idea of hanging out with Winter. She knew that the woman didn't approve of Weiss's Sapphic tendencies, and that she was incredibly judgemental. Neo wasn't enjoying the thought of sitting through a meal with her while she seethed in anger that, not only was her sister a lesbian, but she fell for Neo, out of all the other eligible women at Beacon.

With a silent sigh, Neo dressed herself and gathered her materials for another hyper start to the week with Professor (Doctor) Oobleck. It was still early and Weiss said that she was going to wait for Ruby before heading to the dining hall, so Neo took the scenic route around campus to breakfast.

When she arrived at the dining hall, Neo didn't see anyone else she knew from Team JNPR or Team CFVY so she decided to walk through the gardens for a little while before heading back.

The gardens were mostly empty this brisk morning. A pair of students sparred off in the distance and a handful of benches were occupied with bundled up students, making use of the morning light to read before classes begin. For the most part, though, Neo was alone with her thoughts. With no immediate distractions, she tried to plan her next move. As she told Ozpin, she had seen Cinder on the campus a few times; it worried her that her former boss was so close. And she knew that it wasn't going to be easy to hide forever, despite her diminutive stature, her multi-hued hair certainly stood out in a crowd. It was only a matter of time before she ran into the woman and was forced into another fight with her.

After the last fight at the restaurant, Neo didn't think she could take Cinder on her own. She needed help, but couldn't bear the thought of dragging Weiss or her other teammates into her battles. _They've been so accepting. They've given me nothing but love and trust. Gods! What if Cinder did anything to any of them because of me? How can I protect them?_ With a pause, Neo knew what she had to do. _To keep them safe, I have to kill Cinder and cut the head from the serpent that is her faction. It doesn't matter; I'm killing her one way or the other. To avenge my family and what she did to me or to protect my new friends ~ one reason's as good as the other._ As she walked, Neo replayed the couple of bouts she had with Cinder in her mind, desperately searching for the woman's weakness, but no weaknesses came to mind.

Neo's feet took her in several loops around the garden as she thought to herself. She knew the morning was wearing on, so she made her way into the large, high-ceilinged dining hall. She immediately saw Ruby and Weiss laughing together at Team RWBY's normal table, with Nora and Ren at the table behind them. Neo went to the line, grabbed a tray, and began filling it with food. _It's been well over a week, and the novelty of unlimited food still hasn't worn off! It's just bizarre to be this well-fed after seven years of starving and scraping for whatever I could find._ She looked at the dessert options and picked up a couple still-warm-chocolate-chip-cookies. Neo smirked, sure that Ruby already grabbed more than a few of the cookies, but she thought a gesture of good will towards the energetic, kind-hearted girl would be a good start to thanking her. After all, it was Ruby who freely accepted Neo onto her team, despite all of the complications it created for her feelings for Weiss.

Neo approached the table from behind Ruby and Weiss and paused behind the pair. She placed the plate of cookies and a glass of milk in front of Ruby, set her tray down across the table from her, and pulled the pair into a large hug. Ruby hands flailed as she tried to get to the cookies. Weiss laughed and Neo smiled at the girl's antics. Releasing the pair, Neo gave Ruby a small kiss on the cheek and Weiss a slightly longer one on top of her head before she took her seat and tucked into her pile of food.

"Hey! How many cookies do you think I can fit in my…" Ruby couldn't finish her question as Yang interrupted

"Hey little sister, didn't we just have a conversation a couple weeks ago about limiting your cookie intake at breakfast? I mean, you're hyper enough as is, when you're on a sugar rush, you're almost as bad as Oobleck."

Ruby sorrowfully pouted at her sister, "Well, Neo brought me them and I thought it would be rude to refuse such a nice gesture."

Neo tried to crunch into herself and will herself to become invisible as she watched Yang turn towards her and drop an arm over her shoulders. A heavy arm around her shoulders yanked her towards Yang as the blonde chided her "Well, I suppose we can give Neo a pass, this time anyhow, since she didn't know the 'no cookies for Ruby before noon' team rule." Yang looked Neo in the eye and pointed a finger at her, "But know this, you're sitting next to her throughout Oobleck's class and keeping her contained. For the entire lesson."

Neo looked from Yang to Ruby and back, and couldn't help but notice that Ruby was already bouncing in her seat. Dejectedly, Neo hung her head, somberly nodded, and knew that her teammates were bound to be entertained by, what was sure to be, her futile attempts to reign in their leader.

"Don't worry, Neo. We can swing by the room and grab the emergency roll of duct tape." Weiss deadpanned before taking a bite out of her post-breakfast apple.

"Nnooo!" Ruby shrieked, "Last time you got my hair caught in it and ripped some out."

"Are we taping Ruby to her chair again?" Came Nora's excited voice from the next table, "It was so much fun last time! Plus, other than Cardin's normal annoying self, it made for a quiet class. All the better for sleeping!"

"Class isn't really for sleeping, Nora." Weiss replied.

"Thank you!" came Ren's agreement.

Neo was amazed at this group of friends and teammates. Effortlessly, they all teased and gave each other a hard time, but always in a good-natured manner as they laughed together and enjoyed the others' company. It was nothing at all like the time she spent working her way up through the ranks of Cinder's faction. There were no friends. Only competitors and predators that tried to use each other. People Neo knew she needed to outsmart; to get the most she could out of them while they tried to do the same to her. Neo looked at each of these little goofballs in turn and tried to imagine what her life would have been like if she had friends like these before now. _What I could have become if I didn't have to dedicate my life to killing one evil woman…_


	29. Warning

Chapter 29

Fortunately for Ruby, she avoided being taped to her chair by mostly behaving herself throughout Professor (Doctor) Oobleck's class. Ruby tapped her scroll and saw there were less than five minutes remaining. _You can do this! Less than five minutes!_ She tried to keep her bouncing to a minimum as her eyes landed on the menacing roll of duct tape next to Weiss's notebook. _Fiends! Threatened by my old nemesis ~ Sir Tape of the Ducts!"_

As soon as class was over though, Ruby bolted through the door, as she blew past Oobleck in a black and red haze, to who knows where to blow off some energy. Yang rolled her eyes as she watched her sister, and said that she was going to try to keep an eye on Ruby. Blake nodded absently as she opened her novel and began reading as she walked to the door, intent on finding a spot under a tree in the courtyard. Weiss and Neo stood alone in the classroom as they bagged their things.

"Winter replied. She said that she'd be happy to come watch us spar. We still have a bit of time, so I was thinking we could just walk around campus for a bit. There's no real point in returning to the dorm and changing into our combat outfits. We're going to have to shower and change once we're done, so it's pointless to change beforehand."

Neo nodded her assent as she picked up her notebook and textbook. With a small smile, she lead the way, more confident finding her way around Beacon Academy.

As soon as they stepped through the door, Professor Ozpin called for them as he approached. "Miss Neopolitan, could trouble you and Miss Schnee for a moment of your time?"

The women nodded and followed their headmaster as he led them to another currently vacant classroom.

"Qrow recently sent me a situation report on his current mission. While it's unrelated to his mission, he has heard through his sources that Cinder did not respond well to being forced to retreat from your fight the other day. Apparently, she is afraid that being forced to retreat by a former accomplice sets a bad precedent. As a result, she is out for blood seeks to make a message out of you. She's planning to attack you soon; Beacon's walls are no haven ~ she will attack brutally and in public, to ensure everyone knows what happens to traitors that cross her." Ozpin adjusted his spectacles as he looked from one woman to the other, "Miss Schnee, please keep an eye on Neopolitan. General Ironwood and I have already discussed this matter. He and your sister, Winter, are coming to Beacon to lend the support of the Atlesian Army. Perhaps with you and Winter accompanying Miss Neopolitan, Cinder will think twice before attacking."

Having given his warning, Ozpin nodded to them and left with a final caution, "Remain vigilant, Huntresses."

The two women stood in silence as they mulled over Ozpin's warning. Realizing that her team was in danger, Neo's face twisted into a mixture of fear and dread. _If Cinder comes at me, there's no question I'll fight her. I'll kill her for what she's done! But now, Ozpin has put Weiss and Winter in harm's way. And others! Cinder is my responsibility!_

Weiss took Neo's hand, softly stroking it with her thumb, she tried to calm Neo's nerves. "It's going to be okay. We forced her to retreat ~ just the two of us. With Winter or the rest of our team, we're sure to capture her next time."

Neo's eyes went wide with fear at what Weiss just said. _'Capture her'? How can you not understand how dangerous she is? No! Cinder has to die. So long as there's life in her, she'll find a way to run her organization. There isn't a prison that could possibly contain Cinder's ambition, skill, and manipulation._

"Neo?" Weiss asked, concerned for her girlfriend. Neo's eyes were both white, and from Weiss's limited experience, that was not a good thing.

Neo fixed Weiss with a determined look. She shook her head rapidly and looked deep into Weiss's icy eyes as she slowly and deliberately drew her hand across her neck. _Weiss… I need you to understand ~ no matter the cost, Cinder absolutely can not be allowed to live._

Weiss gulped at the implication Neo was suggesting and asked, "Are you absolutely sure?"

Neo responded with a single, stern nod 'yes'.

"Okay. Ozpin said she might attack you, even here at Beacon. We're going to stay visible then. We'll head to the dining hall since there should be a lot of people there. I'll message Winter, the rest of RWBY, and I'll give JNPR and Coco a heads up as well." Weiss said as she pulled out her scroll and started tapping.

As she finished tapping her first message to Winter, Weiss asked again, "You're sure? There's no other way?"

A single nod from Neo was the only reply Weiss was given.

"Okay then." Weiss hit 'send' on her first message to Winter, which was answered immediately.

* * *

*- Change, Winter of plans. Something bad is going on. Meet us in the dining hall?

*- Ironwood briefed me on the information surrounding Cinder's plans. I will meet you very soon. Maintain your guard, Sister.

* * *

As the pair exited their class building, they carefully surveyed the surrounding area, now expecting an attack could come virtually anywhere. Any time.

"Neo, keep look out for anything suspicious, I'm going to message everyone else while we're walking." Weiss looked around briefly, "After last time, I don't want us to get caught alone with her."

Neo nodded as she took Weiss's books and class notes to free up the girl's hands to tap out her messages as the pair double-timed it to the dining hall. Fortunately, there were no incidents on their way. As soon as they entered the large hall, they spotted Jaune and Ren chatting at their normal table. Pyrrha was seated opposite them, with what looked like a comic book in her hands.

The pair moved quickly to join them.

"Do you have your weapons with you?"

Ren nodded that he did, but Pyrrha and Jaune both said theirs were in their lockers.

"Go get them and make sure you carry them at all times for the foreseeable future, please. We're having a briefing in the library in twenty minutes, don't be late."

Jaune and Pyrrha traded worried glances, but knew better than to ask what was going on.

Weiss tried to calm them as best she could, "Ozpin knows what's going on, but please hurry back with your weapons."

As Jaune and Pyrrha ran out the door, Winter entered past them. She immediately spotted her sister and made her way to the younger girl.

"Sister, you are still safe, I see."

"For now. I've messaged everyone else to meet us in the library. It's a private room, so we should be able to talk more openly. Come on guys."

The four of them ~ both Schnees, Neo, and Ren ~ made for the door and hurried across campus to the library.


	30. Meeting

Chapter 30

Less than a half-hour later, everyone Weiss messaged was gathered in one of the library's meeting rooms. Weiss scanned the room and saw a range of expressions from curiosity to boredom to fear. She settled her gaze on Neo, who nodded for her to continue.

"Okay, here's the basic rundown on what we know so far. The night that Neo and I went on our first date, Neo was attacked by a woman named Cinder – she's the leader of a criminal faction in which Roman Torchwick, who we have been investigating, is one of her lieutenants. Neo and I managed to chase her off after a pretty fast, but heated fight. Apparently, she's pretty upset about being forced to retreat by one of her former accomplices, considering her rule comes from her minions fearing her and knowing what she can do to those that disobey her. Since she needs to regain control before there's any thoughts of a challenge to her power, the word is that she plans to kill Neo, and most likely me as well."

Winter stepped in, "Neo has confirmed the reports our Intelligence Service has gathered that Cinder Fall is here, on Beacon's campus, with multiple members of her faction, disguised as exchange students from Haven. As her initial plan to breach the east side of Vale has failed, we have reason to believe that she is accelerating her timeline and is set on some manner of terrorist attack on Amity Colosseum during the Vytal Festival. Based on the information we have regarding the amount of Dust she and her people have at hand, we suspect they will try to set off an explosion to try to bring the Colosseum down and, as a result, crush a significant portion of Vale as it falls from the sky. By all accounts, this woman is a sociopath bent on killing as many people as she can, though we do not know what end she intends to reach by doing so."

"That sounds accurate," Blake began, "I met a defector from the White Fang and she told me that they had an entire warehouse of dust and dust products that they were manufacturing into bombs. Some of those bombs were used on the train to breach Vale, but it wasn't even a quarter of their supply."

"Weiss, why didn't you tell us that you were attacked? Tell us that there was someone other than Torchwick to try to investigate?"

"I didn't want you to worry Ruby. Besides, Neo and I decided that it was best to focus our energy on the pieces in this chess match that we could actually see and knew about, namely Torchwick and the White Fang. While we were doing that, if we learned anything more about Cinder and her plan, we could use that as a jumping off point to launch an investigation or assault against her."

"Right… Well," Ruby pointed at both Weiss and Neo, "you two aren't going anywhere alone until she's in custody. At least two of us will be with you at all times."

The group nodded together at Ruby's suggestion.

"Ruby, Cinder needs to be killed." Weiss lowered her eyes and shook her head, "We can't capture her. She's strong and manipulative, there's no way anyone will be able to hold her for long or keep her from trying to achieve whatever her twisted goals are, so long as she's alive."

The small girl's face fell.

"I understand that killing a criminal without a trial is against much of what we all believe in terms of our understanding of justice and due process, but in this case, Weiss is right. This woman is leading a global terror network. Several other attacks have been linked to her faction, and any attempts to capture her thus far have been frustrated by her people. As a result, Atlesian Intelligence, with the consent of the other three kingdoms' Councils, has issued a kill order for her. That is part of the reason that General Ironwood and I are here with some of our forces." Winter confirmed.

Everyone in the room sat in silence as the implication of her words sank in.

"I know that most of you have not killed another human before, and that you don't ever want to, but understand this: our enemies are not just the Grimm, there are humans and Faunus amongst us that plot our demise and they must be dispatched with the same cold efficiency as you have been trained to exterminate Grimm."

Blake caught Neo's eyes briefly. She wasn't sure if it was a trick of light or if she imagined it, but Neo's eyes burned a flaming orange-red.

 _iWinter's logic is sound. Yes, there are a number of implications that justify Cinder's death. My reason for killing her is far more personal and I should be the one to kill her. Avenge what she did to me… But in the end, as long as that bitch is in the ground, I don't care who kills her or what reason they justify it with. All that matters is that she dies./i_


	31. Probing

Chapter 31

Several days passed without incident. Twice a day, Winter, Weiss, Neo, and Ozpin met in the Headmaster's office. They were occasionally joined by Goodwitch or Ironwood, but not always. And, rarely did the information change: sporadic sightings of Cinder or her associates in Vale near to the Academy, but not on the campus itself. Ozpin warned that their effort to lay low could be an indication of her faction gearing up for a final press and they should be even more on guard now than before.

All around them though, life continued as normal. The Vytal Festival was solidly in the quarter-finals round, and classes marched along towards exams and the end of the semester. A number of Team RWBY and Team JNPR members found it odd that no one else seemed to be on alert or on guard, despite their involvement in a fairly high-stakes mission. The juxtaposition of their high-strung state of readiness clashed with the much more easy-going, free-spirited environment surrounding the festival. Fortunately, the visitors, public, and students were all too wrapped up in the excitement of the festival to notice a handful of Huntsmen and Huntresses at a heightened state of alert.

Weiss and Neo were constantly on edge and it began to take a toll on the pair. Winter, however, seemed in her element and accustomed to operating at an elevated stress level.

To complicate matters, Weiss started to worry that Jaune and Ruby have let their guard slip since there was no steady action, just observation and awareness.

On Wednesday afternoon, Ruby and Jaune were called into Ozpin's office and told that their field trip over the weekend was going to be canceled. Instead, they were going to join with one of Ironwood's commando units and try to hunt her down, if Cinder hadn't attacked by midday on Friday. As he finished giving the team leaders their orders, Ozpin sternly warned them that they were not to tell their team any of this information, just that 'Ozpin is waiting to give us our assignment for the weekend'."

Thursday started out in much the same way every other day that week had. Early breakfast as a group, fight to stay awake for Professor Port's lecture, and fight the boredom while watching their classmates fight in Goodwitch's class. Glynda didn't allow them to spar, as she tried to keep RWBY and JNPR fresh in case Cinder attacked.

After class, the nine members of RWBY and JNPR discussed some of the more unique strategies they just witnessed as they made their way towards the dining hall for lunch. Less than halfway there, they heard a series of explosions saw smoke pouring from one of the engines keeping Amity afloat. As the Colosseum was designed to remain aloft with multiple engine failures, a single destroyed engine wasn't enough to bring it down; something an attacker would be aware of. But when there were no more explosions, Weiss turned to her teammates and suggested that it was a distraction to clear everyone else out.

The combined teams nodded their agreement with the heiress's assessment as they saw the Atlesian fleet rapidly depart Beacon, along with a rush of students and Huntsmen.

"At least they'll be safe from whatever is about to happen here." Weiss commented dryly. "Brace yourselves, she's coming…"

Sirens wailed as Weiss finished her statement. Nora fell to her knees at the sound; hands clutched her ears as she begged for the sound to stop. Ren tried to comfort her as their teammates drew their weapons and shields to guard the two. Weiss drew Myrtenaster while Ruby unfolded Crescent Rose and Blake slapped a magazine home into Gambol Shroud as Yang cocked Ember Celica.

They scanned the ground as well as the skies, knowing Cinder's faction to have access to Bullheads. Nearly a dozen Bullheads screamed in, low to the ground and darted over Beacon's walls at the last possible moment; a military maneuver. At first, Weiss relaxed her guard as she thought the well executed maneuver was the work of the Atlesian Air Fleet, but the sight of the Bullheads unloading their full complements of White Fang operatives, jumping and rappelling towards the ground, made her realize just how much trouble they were in.

With a silent curse, Weiss tapped out an incredibly fast message and mashed the send button.

* * *

*- Coco, we need your BFG in the quad by the dining hall. NOW!

* * *

Weiss shouted to her companions as she stuffed her scroll away, "How are we going to do this?"

Blake was first to reply, "If they are coming towards you aggressively, kill them."

* * *

The first White Fang member had barely hit the ground when Ruby fired a round from Crescent Rose to launch herself at him. With a simple windmill-like spin, she decapitated him and fired another round, hurtling herself into a pack of Fang operatives.

Weiss activated her glyphs and began skating across the ground, enemies impaled as they landed. As she attacked, she cast defensive glyphs far more frequently than she generally considered prudent to try to protect herself and her teammates as best she could from the barrage of incoming gunfire.

Yang swung from the end of Gambol Shroud's ribbon, trying to deal some damage to the troops on the ground as Blake gathered momentum to launch the girl up towards an incoming Bullhead. At the apex of Blake's swing, Yang fired both gauntlets as she launched herself at a Bullhead and crashed through the windshield. As she fired a double shot and smashed through the lexan windscreen, Yang mercilessly unloaded on the pilot, killing him and removing the aircraft's ability to stay airborne. The brawler rode the plane down, bailing right before it crashed into the ground, and threw herself, arms outstretched, into a cluster of Fang trying to chase down Jaune and Pyrrha.

Neo silently let fly a tirade of curses as she did her best to shield herself from an onslaught that made her realize she was the Fang's target for this incursion. Her lack of a strong ranged attack made things incredibly difficult for her to do anything other than defend herself. She needed to close the distance to get within hand-to-hand range. She reopened her parasol and charged at the closest enemy she could find. Neo launched herself at the deer-antlered Faunus woman with a double front kick; the second kick was used to push off and flip backwards. With a flash, Neo teleported to above the woman and crashed down on top of her head, narrowly avoiding the woman's antlers and dug her heal into the soft flesh of the neck, ripping a spurting gash into the artery beneath. The woman crashed to the ground, lifeless and limp, under Neo's assault.

Neo sized up her options and decided to burn the aura needed to teleport again. With another Death-From-Above attack, she came down on top of two White Fang operatives. One took the business end of her parasol directly to the temple; he was dead before he hit the ground. The other collapsed under the weight of the small woman as she landed on his shoulders and pushed him to the ground, face down, underneath her. She grabbed the back of his head smashed it into the ground repeatedly until she felt his body go limp.

Bodies were literally piling up across the battlefield. Ruby appeared to have gotten past her aversion to killing people and did a fine job hacking off limbs and severing bodies while Weiss put her fencing skills to the test. Blake and Yang held their line pretty well.

Jaune careened through a crowd with his sword slashing wildly and his shield ran through is paces, deflecting what blows he could. Pyrrha's movement looked somewhat similar, except her accuracy was far better on the attack and her skillful shield work ensured she sustained little damage. Over her right shoulder, Nora batted White Fang members away two and three at a time with huge swings of Magnhild while Ren threw rounds downrange between some impressive acrobatic moves against anyone crazy enough to get within the ninja's range.

* * *

Regardless of how well it seemed to be going, Neo knew that the White Fang operatives they were fighting were nothing more than canon fodder to try to wear them out before Cinder and her lieutenants joined the battle.

Through the din of battle, Weiss projected her powerful singing voice and screamed out "HIT THE DECK!"

None from Team RWBY or Team JNPR asked any questions as they threw themselves to the ground. Weiss flew across the battlefield and tackled Neo to the ground as a sideways falling hail of rounds mowed down anything higher than waist-height to Coco. In a matter of seconds, the fight was over and the only sound was the barrels on Coco's minigun as it ran through its post-firing cool down.

"Hey Schnee! You call, I deliver."

Neo's eyes were wide at the sight of the fashion-forward model wielding what is, quite likely, the largest handheld gun she had ever seen. Yatsuhashi stood guard behind her, his gigantic blade at the ready.

The combatants rose to regroup as they expected another wave, but after several minutes, none arrived.

Before long, Ozpin and several others arrived on scene and began to survey the damage.

"This must have been a preliminary attack. Probing. By detonating their explosives on Amity, they watched our reaction and sent in an expeditionary force to test the remaining defenses of Beacon. I am afraid to say, but this Cinder knows what she is doing." Came Winter's calculated, professional assessment.

"Children, are any of you hurt?" Goodwitch asked, she expected some serious injuries based on the sheer number of bodies that littered the grounds. The Huntsmen and Huntresses inspected their partners quickly and turned up nothing more serious than a couple of bruises and some moderate cuts. Glynda was legitimately surprised at how capably their defense was to pull off such an amazing feat.

"Glynda, I'm going to get a hold of Ironwood. Get Schnee, both of them, Miss Neopolitan and the three team leaders present up to my office. We're having a meeting in fifteen minutes."

"Right away, Professor. Alright, you heard him. Miss Schnee, Miss Schnee, Miss Neopolitan, Miss Rose, Mister Arc, and Miss Adel, you're all with me. Everyone else, group up and take up a defensive position on the ground level of Ozpin's tower. No one gets in to that building other than your teammates, is that understood?"

All heads present nodded briefly at her as they began a cautious procession through the killing field towards Ozpin's office.


	32. Assault

Chapter 32

Within ten minutes, all of the individuals Ozpin requested for the meeting were gathered in his office. The other members from the three teams stood guard on the ground level.

"Huntsmen, we are, unfortunately facing a grave danger. Our enemy has made it clear that they are not only capable of targeting vital equipment on Amity Colosseum, but also able to launch a simultaneous direct attack against Beacon." Ozpin looked at each gathered individual in turn, "While you are predominantly trained to fight the creatures of Grimm, you are sometimes required to handle threats in Human or Faunus form. I can appreciate your hesitance to eliminate these threats, but make no mistake, they will not hesitate to kill you in pursuit of their own nefarious ends."

Ruby, Jaune, and Weiss shifted uncomfortably at this statement. Neo and Coco took it in stride. Winter, Goodwitch, and Ironwood all nodded their understanding, based on hard fought experience.

"James?"

"Thank you, Oz." The General began, "Given Cinder's brazen, public attack on Miss Neopolitan and Miss Schnee, which was very closely followed by this assault against the revelers at the Vytal Festival, it is imperative that we strike fast and lethally to ensure that neither she nor her associates have the opportunity to launch another attack. Thanks to Captain Schnee's people, we have been able to back trace Cinder's every move from the time she and two of her associates came to Beacon disguised as exchange students from Haven. Unfortunately, we have yet to detect their communications, as evidenced by their ability to orchestrate this attack without tipping off our intelligence personnel."

Ironwood paused as Winter tapped on her scroll, "Okay, I have confirmation that the three targets are in their room in the northwest dorm building of the exchange students' village. If we move quickly we can end this now. I want Team RWBY and Neopolitan with me to breech and take Cinder directly. Teams CFVY and JNPR can hold a perimeter around the dorm to ensure they don't escape on foot. General, can we insert a team on the roof to ensure they can't air drop reinforcements or try some sort of air-evac?"

"I'll send a team of Knights to drop and hold the roof."

"And we've been clearing the students from the dorm as quietly as possible." Ozpin finished.

 _If Ozpin's already ordered the building clear, he's accepted the assault and is going to order it to happen immediately._ Neo reasoned, _Just waiting on the final "Go!"…_

Neo looked at Weiss and Ruby and raised a questioning eyebrow towards them.

"I didn't expend that much Aura, I think I'm still good." Came Weiss's reply.

"I can manage. I used my semblance a lot, but I'm used to it." Ruby chuckled, "I'll be fine."

"Do you think Yang and Blake are going to be good to go?" Weiss asked their team leader.

"I'm not one-hundred percent sure, but they didn't really seem to exert themselves too much. Even if they did, Yang will be fine and Blake always knows when to shift to a more defensive posture."

Winter walked over to join them, "Well, little sister, are you ready to join me in the big leagues?"

Weiss forced a smile, "I won't let you down, Winter."

The elder Schnee placed a hand on both Weiss and Neo's shoulders and smiled proudly at the pair. "I have seen the security video of you both fighting her. There is no doubt in my mind that you will perform admirably."

Ironwood checked his scroll and boomed out, "Everyone has their assignments. You have two minutes to brief your teams then we're moving."

Ozpin's office cleared out as the team leaders gathered their teammates in the lobby to give them their instructions.

"Okay, Blake. Yang. Weiss and Neo already know what's up; time to brief you. Basically, we're storming a room in the visiting students' village in the northwest dorms. Winter's with us. CFVY and JNPR will set and hold a perimeter around the building. Ironwood's dropping a team on the roof. We have three targets in the room. Cinder, who has planned these attacks, and two of her associates. I don't know who they are, but if they're with her, we have to assume they're bad news. Remember what Neo and Weiss told us, Cinder has to die. She's too clever, manipulative, and evil to just lock in prison. I know it's not easy," Ruby swallowed hard and looked to the floor, unsure of herself. "Does anyone have a problem with that?"

Ruby looked up to see four very serious faces looking back at her. Weiss looked a bit uncomfortable but said nothing. Neo and Blake were stone-faced. And Yang shifted with barely contained nervous energy.

"We can do this. Go TEAM RWBY!"

Around the lobby, the other team leaders wrapped up their own briefings. Within seconds of completion, everyone was ready to roll.

"Alright," Winter called out. "I'm with RWBY. JNPR, CFVY, Cinder's room faces north, therefore, you will secure the south, west, and east faces of the building on our arrival. Do not move to the north until we breech ~ the flashbangs going off will be your cue to move to the north wall. And Ironwood will drop a squad of Knights on the roof. Last chance for questions."

With no questions to be asked, Winter nodded at her assault team and support squads. "Let's move!"

The group began a steady jog across the campus towards the visitors' village and their target dorm. As they ran, Winter double-checked her scroll to make sure Cinder's faction had not left their room. There was no indication that they were gone yet. She motioned for everyone to quicken their pace. They entered the dorm and climbed the steps to the third floor. On the stairwell landing, she stopped her assault team and began to five final instructions.

"I'm going to hold the door. There's going to be a lot of smoke and I probably won't be able to see in, so I'm going to take out anything that comes through that door at waist height or higher before I hear double-confirmation that the fight is over. If you need to get out, go low and I'll cover you. Yang: I need you to one-shot the door. Demolish it and move out of the way. I'll throw two flashbangs. That is _TWO_ , everyone, do not enter until both have gone off. If this goes according to plan, they will be temporarily blind and stunned. You know what to do with Cinder. As for her accomplices, it is the same to the Atleasian Army if they are captured or casualties."

The women all signaled their understanding as Winter reached for the door.

One by one, they slipped under Winter's arm holding the door from the stairwell and sneaked down the hallway. In seconds, they arrived in front of their target door. Ruby stepped in front of Yang as the brawler prepared to breech the door. Winter looked on, confused. Ruby took hold of a few strands of Yang's hair and yanked them out with a quick step out of the way. Yang's beautiful lilac eyes went a terrifying red as her hair looked like it ignited. Her gauntlets cocked and ready, the blonde lined up the door's hinges and punched straight through them, blowing the door inward.

Winter flipped the spoons off her grenades and lobbed one then the other a brief second later. They all turned from the door, clenched their eyes shut, and covered their ears in anticipation of the "BANG… … …BANG"

* * *

As soon as the second flashbang went off, there was a mad dash into the room. Yang lead the way and ran headlong into the silver-haired boy they knew as Mercury. She unleashed a hellish barrage on him, worried that she alerted the other two in the room as to her presence. And she would have, if they were able to hear or see what was going on. Yang quickly closed the distance on Mercury, after her initial barrage blasted him into the far wall directly opposite the door. She followed up with a trio of body blows and an uppercut that raised him clear off the ground. Yang jumped up after him, grabbed him by the hair, and threw his head downward into her rapidly rising knee. Blood exploded from his nose as Yang made contact with the devastating blow. The sight of his blood fired Yang up even more. For him to bleed, his Aura had to be depleted already.

Yang was working Mercury over as Ruby dashed in right behind her and made contact with the green-haired girl, Emerald. Ruby fired off a round from Crescent Rose to launch herself at Emerald. She bodily struck the girl and drove her into the block wall on the left side of the room from the entry, concrete shattering underneath the force. Emerald managed to free one of her sickles and raise it above her head. As the pair impacted with the wall, she drove the butt-end down towards Ruby's head. The small girl was too quick though; Ruby sprinted back to the far wall as Yang was delivering an intense knee to the face of Mercury.

Neo and Weiss entered the smoke-filled room behind Ruby. Neo knew Cinder would attack before she could see anything, so she opened her parasol, intent on blocking the woman's preemptive strike. As expected, a trio of arrows exploded against the parasol as she entered behind Ruby. As she closed her parasol, she dove towards the source of the arrows with a flying side kick. Cinder separated her bow into the twin scimitars and easily blocked Neo's kick with the flats of her blades. As Neo kicked off the swords to flip to safety, Weiss skated underneath her and scored a glancing blow off Cinder's left hip. Neo dashed at the woman with her parasol held out like a rapier.

Cinder parried the parasol with her left sword as Neo drew it back to her side and dropped low. Neo spun clockwise and kicked her right leg out in a low sweep at Cinder. The woman gracefully jumped to dodge the attack but wasn't in position to block Weiss's thrust with Myrtenaster. The rapier landed a solid hit squarely into Cinder's left kidney. The blow was hard and ate significantly into the woman's Aura.

The uppercut should have been fatal to Mercury, but he managed to get a round off with his boots and used the upward momentum to absorb some of the impact. Desperately, he threw a midair double front kick towards Yang. Both kicks landed solidly and Mercury felt confident as they sent the Blonde to the ground, unaware of her Semblance's ability to redirect that energy. As he came down from the peak of his leap, he planted his right foot on the solid concrete wall and fired a round to propel himself forward as he raised his left foot in kick aimed at Yang. The blonde effortlessly caught his foot and, using his momentum, spun counterclockwise and slammed the boy into the wall. She released the foot and took a step forward as Mercury fell. With a wink, she cocked Ember Celica and punched Mercury directly into the floor. His ribs made a sickening crack at the impact from Yang's punch and again as his body essentially splat against the floor.

Enraged at the sight of her associates' failure to defend her, Cinder fought like a mad woman. With a lunge directly at Weiss, Cinder scissored both blades at Weiss's neck. Weiss narrowly avoided the attack as she quickly threw Myrtenaster up in a block as she activated a glyph to skate back to safety.

Neo sensed an opening. She darted in front of Cinder, underneath the scissoring blades and jammed the tip of her parasol into Cinder's wounded left kidney. Cinder spun towards Neo and chopped at her with both blades in tandem. The attack was easy enough for Neo to block with her closed parasol, but the force Cinder put into the attack caused her to stagger and fall to the ground. Cinder raised her swords and swung directly downward, as if she wielded dual great axes, bent on killing the traitor.

A bolt of ice formed into a block in front of Neo and trapped Cinder's blades inches from Neo's head. Cinder pulled hard on the glass swords to free them, but instead shattered them. The woman turned on Weiss as she grabbed a vial of orange dust from her belt and swung her arm, casting the particles into the room. Neo threw herself between Cinder and Weiss to try to hide her partner behind the open parasol. Weiss cast a glyph and completely unloaded her air dust immediately followed by her water dust from Myrtenaster's chamber to create an icy mist to try to offset the orange's fire properties. The air dust from Weiss blew a significant portion of the orange dust back onto Cinder as she activated her aura to ignite it.

The explosion was deafening and blew Cinder hard into the concrete block wall with the door. Weiss and Neo were reasonably well protected behind Neo's parasol and Weiss's cast icy mist. The shock wave hit Yang hard on right side; her semblance absorbed most of the damage as it threw her into the wall. Stunned from the impact against the wall, she landed on top of Mercury's body. Emerald took a full blow from the explosion and careened back into Weiss's mist field. Ruby saw the orange dust and knew what was about to happen and activated her Semblance and made for the door. Ruby dropped to her knees and leaned backwards as she slid underneath Winter's swords. Blake had just fired off a round from Gambol Shroud in kusari-gama form and landed a direct hit in the right side of Cinder's throat. She threw a stone shadow clone and hid behind it as it took most of the blast. Blood poured from the wound as the explosion died down and Blake pulled her weapon back to her.

Neo grabbed Myrtenaster from Weiss and dove towards Cinder. She grabbed Cinder by the throat with her left hand and dug her fingers into the wound. Neo forced Cinder to her knees and raised the rapier, the tip positioned between the woman's clavicle and throat on the opposite side of her neck from where she held the woman in place.

Cinder knew what was coming. She refused to show any fear as she stared Neo down, daring her to strike the final blow.

Neo couldn't bring herself to let Cinder know how thoroughly she had ruined her life, backed off from her original plan of telling the woman exactly who she was and why she spent the past seven years tracking her down to kill her. Instead, Neo steeled her resolve and drove the blade home. With little resistance, it pierced Cinder's skin and easily sliced into her vital organs. She twisted the blade and pulled it out.

Bright, red blood spurted from the wound as Cinder fell forward.

Ruby and Winter reentered the room as Blake, Yang, and Weiss stood over their foe as she was dying at Neo's feet in front of them.

"Ruby? Can you end her suffering?"

Ruby took a step towards Cinder and swung Crescent Rose in an overhanded arc, landing the tip of the blade in the back of Cinder's neck, and nearly severed the head from the rest of her body.

As Ruby pulled the scythe clear, she converted it into the more manageable rifle form and took aim at the badly burned Emerald; her pain so severe, she couldn't even scream.

"Winter?" Ruby asked as her eyes began to fill with tears.

"She's in excruciating pain, her entire body's burned… I don't thing there's anything anyone can do for her now."

"I'm sorry Em…"

The girl's pain was too much to bear; she never heard Ruby's apology or the sound of the large-caliber round being fired at her.

Ruby's tears fell freely as she turned back to Weiss and Neo.

"You did what you had to do, Ruby"

Ruby was shocked at the voice; it wasn't one that she knew. Unsure where it came from, she quickly looked around, she saw a black haired girl with vibrant green eyes holding Myrtenaster and wearing Neo's clothes.

"N-Neo?"

"I'm sorry you had to do that Ruby." _It's finally over. Cinder's dead, just like everyone that vile woman had taken from me. Just like I had been all these years. Dead. Not really living. Only plotting. And now, there's nothing left. My mission's over_. Neo sobbed. _Gods! There's nothing left for me. I… I finally did it. And now…_ Neo looked at each of her teammates and Winter, "I'm sorry you all had to go through this because of me."

Neo spun Myrtenaster around, aimed the tip upward at the bottom of her ribcage, and readied herself for the pain as the blade pierced into her.

Her world went dark.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this is a day late ~ this is the longest chapter and one of the most difficult for me to edit due to the battle and trying to keep everyone's positioning straight and describe everything that's happening simultaneously.

As I'm sure you can tell, this story's winding down... I have about 12k words of a Velvet-centric story I started working on when I finished writing this one, but it's far from complete and I'm not sure I want to edit / post it before it's finished. I also have plans to edit an original (non-fanfiction) piece this year and try to shop it around to a publisher ~ I'm not going to disappear, but I do have several irons in the fire and I'm not sure how I want to post my next story, especially as it's incomplete right now.

lucassource - I normally reply to reviews through PM, but since yours is disabled: Can Neo teleport? I'm not 100% sure what to call it, but that's what I went with. Think back to the train at the end of V2 - Raven appears, Neo's eyes go white, she opens her parasol, and jumps backwards and vanishes with a flash. Is it an illusion or an actual teleportation? In the end, the effect is the same, she looks like she's somewhere, then gone. Similar to the way she created the illusion that shattered like glass when Yang punched it, only for the camera to pan to the Bullhead and show us Neo and Roman standing in the door as it flew away.

Generally, if you take the time to favorite the story, I send a quick PM to thank you ~ for those that don't have PMs enabled: Thank you so much! I appreciate your support. Likewise to everyone following: I hope the story's been worth your time and that the upcoming ending is worth the journey to get there.

Honestly, Weiss x Neo is pretty obscure and I thought I'd get about 20 views on this thing... Instead, I've been incredibly lucky and have somehow managed to gain some awesome followers that think this is "good" and enjoy reading it that I've been able to correspond with regularly. Thank you all!

After this, there's three chapters remaining (unless I add or combine anything), so it should be wrapping up next week. Feel free to share your thoughts ~ I'm a bit behind on my replies, but I'm working on them!

Enjoy the remainder of the holiday season and stay safe.

Best,  
~shdwmchn


	33. BFF

Chapter 33

"Was that really necessary, Yang?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, it had to be done, obviously." _Besides… I was still pretty well charged up with another shot ready to go. And who better to unload on than the girl that crushed Ruby's heart and nearly killed me on that train. Not like I hold grudges or anything, but, c'mon, that's probably the only chance I'll ever have…_

The women stood around Neopolitan's limp form. Even though Yang knocked her out, and probably gave her a concussion, and possibly a skull fracture, the small woman was still breathing and alive. A few small rivulets of blood ran down Neo's stomach and Myrtenaster, but Yang stopped her just as the rapier barely cut into her flesh.

"I don't think I can carry her to the infirmary…" Weiss began. "Umm, Yang? Since you're running power levels over 9000 right now, do you think you could try to be gentle with her?"

"No promises, Ice Queen."

"While you are tending to your teammate, I will order some techs to gather the bodies and try to recover any evidence that might have, miraculously, survived." Winter stated. "Perhaps Blake and Ruby can remain with me until the area is secure?"

Blake agreed while Ruby absently nodded, still staring at Emerald's body.

"Maybe Ruby should come with us, Winter."

Winter looked Ruby over and noticed the young girl had gone practically catatonic; she nodded her assent.

"Hey Ruby, why don't you come with your sister and me to take Neo to the infirmary?"

Ruby again nodded absently.

Taking one of the girl's arms, Weiss ducked under it and wrapped Ruby's arm over her shoulder and lead the girl out of the room behind Yang.

Before stepping out of the building, Yang yelled out "We got all of them, it's just us coming out now."

The CFVY and JNPR members that secured the perimeter began to spread the word around the building. One by one, they stood down and holstered their weapons to ensure none of the good guys would accidentally be attacked while trying to leave the building.

Yang looked over her shoulder and winked at Weiss, "Keep up if you can!" and ran towards the infirmary leaving Weiss and Ruby well behind. Weiss shook her head at the blonde's antics before focusing on her friend.

"I know you're not but, are you okay Rubes?"

"I thought she was our friend…" Ruby stifled a sniffle. "How could she really be one of them?"

"I really don't know, Ruby."

"And Neo talked to us…"

"Yeah, I don't know what that was all about, either." Weiss racked her brain for an explanation. The only thing that made sense was that Neo's hair had something to do with it, but honestly, that didn't make any sense either.

"Gods! I executed her. Them. Both of them." At that admission, Ruby collapsed into a sobbing heap. She fell to the ground and wailed at the thought of being a murderer. It was too much for the girl ~ the kind to everyone, happy to be alive, innocent girl that wanted to save everyone.

Weiss's heart broke at the sight. "Ruby… They were already dead. You, well, you just eased their end." A small pause, "You kept them from suffering needlessly."

"If they were like Neo… They could have become Huntsmen! They would still be alive and I wouldn't have to have killed them!" Her sobs became heavier, "Why are there so many bad people? Grimm are one thing, but people shouldn't be like that."

Weiss sat on the ground next to Ruby and hugged her close. She ran her fingers through the girl's short hair as she tried to think of anything she could possibly say to ease her friend's guilt and pain. "You're right Ruby, they shouldn't be like that. But some are. And it's our job, our _duty,_ to protect the rest of the good people from them." She pulled the girl tightly to her, "You're such a good kid, Ruby…" Weiss kissed her forehead, "Please don't ever stop caring this much… I know it hurts when you care so much and things don't work out like you want them to, but please, don't ever stop caring as much as you do. It's what makes you the good, amazing person you are, and what will keep the rest of us grounded and connected to what we have to do and why we're out here doing it." Weiss fumbled her way through her attempt to comfort her leader.

Ruby managed to collect herself somewhat at Weiss's sincere attempt. "You're still my BFF?" 

"Forever."

"I can't lose you, Weiss."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be here for you. Wherever you need me, in font of you to protect you, along side you to support you, or behind you to catch you if you stumble."

Ruby pressed a hand to Weiss's cheek and looked at her friend. With her other hand, she took one of Weiss's hands and held it against her chest, "In here. And as long as you're here, in my heart, you'll always be here for me."

Weiss couldn't take it anymore. She pulled the small girl into her arms she held her as tightly and close as she could. In part, Weiss needed to be as close to her as she could. The other part of her tried to keep Ruby from seeing the tears in her eyes that began falling freely. She bit her lip, but she still couldn't keep the words from coming out.

"I love you so much, Ruby."

"I know you do, you little goofball!" Ruby said as she pressed her hands into Weiss's shoulders to push herself back. I've known you have for longer than you've known it."

Weiss tried to smile at her closest friend, but her face wouldn't cooperate with her.

"But you couldn't admit it back then and I didn't want to press the issue, especially as our team leader." Ruby paused for a moment and looked around, taking in the serene calmness of their campus. It was a strange contrast to what they had just been through only a few minutes ago a short distance away. "I just want you to be happy, Weiss. And now you have Neo, and she's really great, and you guys are getting along so well." Her voice started to speed up, "I mean, well, not as well as Blake and Yang, but, c'mon… That was really just a matter of time. I mean, can you believe how long they've been dancing around that? Sure, you probably didn't notice, but it's not your fault. I was probably just more attuned to it considering everything that had been going on between us. Seriously, Yang was all like 'Rubes, you _have_ to make a move on her, that girl doesn't even have a… _mmruphf…_ "

Weiss cut her off with a palm over the mouth.

"Yeah, I get it…" Weiss sighed deeply, resigned to the fact that she'd never live down how obvious her attraction was to everyone except her. "But, you're right, Ruby. I am with Neo now. For now… And I feel like we really need to figure things out and determine if they're going to work out for us. After what just happened, well, there's a lot of stuff we're both going to need to figure out."

Ruby pushed Weiss's hand aside, "I'm sorry Weiss. I'm just nervous about everything." She looked into the girl's icy blue eyes and, as always, never saw the 'Ice Queen', just her BFF. And now that her Best Friend Forever is with Neo, she wondered how strong the 'Forever' part was, despite Weiss's reassurances. "I'm afraid that Neo will replace me and you won't need me anymore."

"Ruby!" Weiss grabbed the girl's shoulders and leveled an even gaze at her. "There will never come a time that I don't need you anymore. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have such amazing friends. I wouldn't have fit into Beacon: being away from White Castle, my private tutors, and the life my family forced me into. I never would have participated in an epic food fight. I wouldn't have done so many of the things you and Blake and Yang and everyone else have done with me. Or any of those things that have made my time here realize that I wasn't really living my life before. I will always need you. But more than that, I will always _want_ you in my life. Basically, like it or not, you're stuck with me. Forever. _Dolt!_ "

Ruby leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek as she took her hand and stood up. "I do like it. And I wouldn't have it any other way." She squeezed Weiss's hand, "Let's go get checked out in the infirmary and see how everyone else is doing."

With a nod, Weiss stood up as well and let the girl lead her away.


	34. Explanation

Chapter 34

"She's still out, Miss Schnee. We'll let you in to see her one we finish her assessment and get any necessary treatments started, but it's still going to be a little while."

As the staff finished Weiss and Ruby's once-overs, Ruby asked the infirmary nurse if there was someone she could talk with over the coming weeks about what happened. Deep down, she knew Weiss was right – they did their duty and protected countless lives, but she knew it was going to crush her if she kept it buried inside and didn't let it out. She had her team, but they were all likely to have the same view as Weiss. Ruby really just wanted someone to listen to her as she tried to work through everything, not someone who was just tell her that it's all okay and she 'did the right thing', because that wasn't going to make it any easier on her.

The pair asked the infirmary nurse to let them know as soon as they could see Neo, and joined Yang and Blake in the waiting area. Weiss took a seat with her back to the wall so she could watch for any sign about Neo's condition and stretched out to wait. Ruby took a seat next to her sister and rubbed a hand over her head. The blonde's hair was cool to the touch and her eyes were back to their normal lilac color.

"You okay coming down from that? I know it can be tough on you."

Yang smiled at her as she ruffled Ruby's hair, "Yeah, kiddo. I'm going to be fine. How about you?"

Ruby shrugged her shoulders and tilted her head noncommittally, "Eventually… One day at a time, I guess."

"That's all any of us do, Ruby." Blake said with a heartbreakingly sad look in her eyes.

Ruby got up, moved past Yang, and sat on the small couch next to Blake. She leaned against the girl, reached a hand up and started to scratch the base of her Faunus ears below the bow.

"Careful…"

"I won't knock your bow off." Ruby said as she continued to comfort her friend. "We're all here for each other. If you ever want to talk, or snuggle, or cry, or hug it out, I'll be here for you, Blake." She looked at her sister and Weiss and continued, "For all of you."

Ruby felt a low rumble coming from Blake as she leaned against her. Before long, Ruby's hand, and eyes, started to get heavy and she drifted off to sleep.

Before long, Blake and Yang joined her in a well-deserved nap. Only Weiss remained awake, watching the nurses and staff vigilantly as she waited for a sign that it was okay to go in and see Neo. The wait was crushing her. She had no idea what condition her girlfriend was in and she knew that she needed to be there for the woman. Let her know that she wasn't alone. That Weiss was, as promised, always beside, in front of, and behind her.

Well over an hour later, one of the staff members came to get Weiss.

"Miss Schnee?"

"Yes?"

"She's still in pretty rough shape, but I think she'll fully recover in due time. For the time being, though, I think it's best if you and the rest of her team join her and keep her company for a little while."

Weiss looked at the trio of sleeping teammates and decided it was best to let sleeping bears lie, as it were. She tapped out a message on her scroll and sent it to all three.

* * *

*- I'll be in Neo's room. You can come in when you wake up…

* * *

When none of them woke up, she smiled at the thought of some alone time with her girlfriend and followed the woman to Neo's room.

As Weiss entered the room, she saw the small woman seated in her bed, bandages wrapped around her head, multiple IVs in her arm and an array of other equipment – heart monitor, blood pressure cuff, and other dangly wires – attached to her. With some dismay, Weiss also noticed from the tufts of hair sticking out from under the bandages, that Neo's hair was once again brown and pink with white streaks in it and her eyes were back to their characteristic brown and pink.

Weiss stepped into the small room and paused well before the bed as she nervously raised her right hand in a wave and tried to smile at Neo. Neo waved back and motioned for Weiss to come closer and sit with her. With another half-smile, Weiss walked over to the far side of the bed and gave Neo a small kiss on the nose before booping it, and took the woman's left hand in her own and eased herself into a chair close to Neo's head.

The pair sat in silence for quite some time; neither able to start communicating with the other. Weiss occasionally looked at her girlfriend and smiled before looking away as soon as Neo returned her gaze.

After a short while, Neo gingerly tried to shake her head lightly.

"What are… Neo?" Weiss started to panic as the woman's eyes closed and her head lolled back and to the side.

She felt a squeeze on her hand that turned into a very hard grip, which released after a handful of seconds. Neo picked her head up to look at Weiss with her piercing green eyes and Weiss noticed that the woman once again had black hair.

"Is this what you wanted, Weiss?"

Weiss couldn't believe the beautiful voice Neo had. As a decent amateur singer herself, she knew a fair bit about the characteristics of a pleasing voice, and her girlfriend was a textbook version of it. She looked Neo in the eyes and simply nodded 'yes'.

"When I activate my Semblance, I can control my appearance. It's an illusion that functions as a bit of a shield, but it takes a lot of mental energy to hold constantly, for years at a time. One of the impacts is that I can't talk, I just don't have the mental capacity to do it as well… When I'm like this, in my natural, relaxed state, I'm vulnerable. You saw that it takes a few seconds for me to transition." Neopolitan forced a smile, "And that's why one of those kitten-swats Yang calls punches actually knocked me out this time, I was mostly unprotected."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah… They tell me that I will…"

"If you weren't in an infirmary bed hooked to all of this stuff, I would beat the stuffing out of you right now." Weiss's normally solid grip on her emotions started to slip, fast.

"Weiss, I –"

Weiss interrupted the woman, angry and shouted at her, "No! You were going to kill yourself. With Myrtenaster… That sword is a part of my soul! You were, essentially, going to make me kill you. How can anything you say change that?" Weiss dropped Neo's hand and buried her face in her hands, trying to force the tears to stay in her eyes.

Neopolitan shifted herself in her bed and gently reached an arm out to hold Weiss.

When the girl didn't bolt away or throw her arm away, she slid closer and tried, as best as she was able in the current situation, to hug Weiss.

"I was twelve when Cinder lead an attack on my village outside of Haven. I only survived because my family hid me when the attack began." Neopolitan's voice hitched as her own tears began to fall and the emotional pain started to catch up with her. "I saw her torture and kill them, but I still don't know why." She shook her head in frustration, "I never found out why."

Neo took a deep breath and continued, "So I activated my Semblance and never let it down. I followed and observed them. After several months scrounging to survive, I managed to gain acceptance when one of her underlings noticed my prowess at stealing food and coins." She smiled, "It was the in I needed… Then I spent the next seven years," she looked at Weiss, "the past seven years, working my way up to become a part of her inner circle."

Weiss was completely absorbed into her girlfriend's story to the point that she never heard Ruby, Blake, and Yang enter behind her.

"I was getting close. I nearly had all of the details figured out; how I was going to kill her. And then, I was transferred to watch over Roman and make sure he didn't screw up any more than he already had." A wry chuckle, "Of course he was far too far gone for me to stop that! But it threw my plans off. And then you attacked the train and spared my life."

She stopped and looked at all of the girls in turn.

"And then, Cinder found out I was here with you. She was determined to kill all of us, even the four of you, because of me… You had to fight through one hell of a battle, because of me… Then I finally had my revenge, but I didn't feel complete or satisfied. The rush of relief I anticipated didn't come. Instead, I felt empty as I watched myself thrust your rapier into her body and saw her die at my hand… Nothing will bring them back. Nothing will change what I put you through. Nothing will change the fact that I will never atone for what I've done. Nothing could ever prove that my past actions were worthy of the love and acceptance each of you, and everyone else at this Academy, have showered me with."

Neopolitan cried as she balled her fists and pressed them into her eyes.

"And then, in an inexplicable act of love for someone that tried to kill you, Yang, you saved my life. Again." She tried to wipe away the tears, somewhat unsuccessfully, "And now, I don't want to die anymore… I want to be a part of Team RWBY and repay you all of the kindnesses you have given me."

Weiss jumped at the sound of another voice from behind her.

"I think the rest of my team would agree with me; we want you to be a part of Team RWBY. And, after seeing you in action, I think all the other teams would be jealous of our new star addition!" Ruby enthusiastically responded.

"Yeah, I mean, it's not like you _actually_ could have killed me." Yang said with a wink.

Blake simply smiled at the woman and nodded as she wrapped her arm around Yang.

"Weiss?" Ruby prodded the girl.

"Are you sure you're okay with it, Ruby?"

"Yeah." Ruby ran a hand over Weiss's head and through her long hair. "As long as it's what you want, I'm completely okay with it."

Weiss met Ruby's steel-grey eyes, looking for any sign that she should say 'no', but she saw none. She simply nodded to her leader.

Ruby darted over to the bed and carefully wrapped up both Neo and Weiss into her arms, "Welcome aboard, for the second time, Neo!"


	35. Hope

Chapter 35

Neopolitan was finally cleared to leave the infirmary after three very long days, but she wasn't to spar or go on any missions for at least the next two weeks. Fortunately, after their mission to deal with Cinder and her associates, Ozpin pulled RWBY's weekend field trip. Neo was looking forward to a lazy weekend to catch up on all of the assignments she missed this week.

Ozpin came to see her the day before and let her know that her appointment to Team RWBY was finalized at the unanimous request of all current members and with the support of a number of the Academy's professors.

"Thank you, Ozpin. For accepting me as a Huntress-in-training and for the immense kindness everyone has shown me since coming to Beacon."

He sat on the edge of her bed and spoke softly, "I cannot imagine what you must be going through right now. Over a third of your life has been spent trying to extract revenge on a very evil individual. Likewise, I cannot overlook my role in placing you in that situation."

"I wanted to do it."

"Yes, you were adamant about that, but as a Huntsman, I should have known better and dissuaded you from that path of hatred and evil. I only hope you can forgive me for failing you so." Sadness washed over Ozpin's face as he touched Neopolitan's hand.

"I wanted to do it…" Neo reiterated. "You didn't do anything wrong. And even if you did, I would forgive you in a heartbeat."

"Thank you, Neopolitan. That really does mean a lot to me." He stood up, "And give my regards to you teammates. Miss Schnee is on her way up, I will leave you two to enjoy your time together."

Ozpin slipped out of her room and left Neopolitan alone for a brief moment before Weiss entered. Neopolitan scootched to the edge of the bed to wait for Weiss as she patted the bag next to her that contained all of her personal items from her stay.

When the girl arrived, she wore a broad smile and her hair in a neat up-do with her gorgeous strapless, white dress. Neo enjoyed the sight, immensely.

"I wanted to make sure I looked good for you." Weiss self-consciously mumbled as she saw Neo stare at her. "And, you know, if you feel up to it, take you out. After all, our last date was pretty rudely interrupted."

Neopolitan slipped off the bed and into her shoes, stepped over to Weiss and passionately kissed her as she took the girl's hands into her own. Weiss's arms automatically wrapped themselves around Neopolitan's waist and held the girl as close as she could, as if trying to protect her from everything in the world that could possibly harm her.

* * *

About an hour later, the pair stepped out of their dorm and began their now familiar walk into Vale. Both women were obviously taken by the other's beauty in their dresses. Neopolitan's jade green dress with the black stitching was even more dramatic with her coal-black hair and stunning green eyes.

Weiss could hardly keep her eyes off of her girlfriend.

Neopolitan understood that feeling all too well; her eyes were glued to the white-haired beauty with an arm looped through hers as they strode off campus and into the city.

The two passed under the arch of the gateway onto campus and Neopolitan laughed to herself.

"Yes, dear?"

"It's stupid…" Neopolitan chuckled, "I just can't believe it's taken us nearly two weeks to finally have our first silly date."

"I can't believe it, either… Two weeks ago, I wasn't a lesbian. My worldview was solidly intact, even though it was a lie. Two weeks ago, everyone but me knew that I was probably interested in my team leader." Weiss stopped and pulled Neopolitan's hand, turning the girl towards her, "Two weeks ago, you weren't in my life and I wasn't happy."

"And now, Miss Schnee?"

"Now you're in my life and I'm happy. But terrified. I nearly lost you a few days ago. Right as we were starting to, well, whatever it is that we're starting to do…"

Neopolitan leaned in and kissed Weiss softly before she took her hand and guided them back towards their path with a gentle tug. "Want to walk past the canals?"

"Yeah, it'll take a little longer to get there that way and we can keep chatting."

"Now that you know I can talk, you don't seem to want to let me stay quiet."

Weiss smiled at that, "Did I ever tell you that I'm a somewhat accomplished singer?"

Neopolitan shook her head, although she wasn't surprised. Weiss had a melodic voice that she seemed competent at projecting when needed.

"Father forced me into it so, obviously, I don't do it anymore." She laughed, "But, I know a great voice when I hear one. And I would be happy to listen to yours all the time. Plus, now we can really get to know each other with out any charades or pantomiming necessary."

"I'd like to hear you sing sometime. If you're okay with that, Weiss."

"Maybe…"

"Only if you want to, of course."

Weiss's smile faltered a little and the two walked in silence.

"Why are you training to become a Huntress? I mean, you must have so many other options available to you. Your family's business. The Atlesian Army. Anything you want, probably."

"I could have. But I'm an exceptional swordsman. It's not exactly a skill set that would serve me as the head of the board of directors. Well… Actually, I suppose it could… Besides, so long as Father is running the company, I'll never be able to return it to the respectable and honorable company it was before. Before his leadership dragged the Schnee name into the moral grey area it's been operating in for the past couple of decades. I need to show the world that not every Schnee is like him. Winter's a skilled public servant in the military and I'm looking to benefit others with my service as a Huntress. When I take my place as the head of the company, I will come in with a personal history of doing what's right, protecting the people, and honor. All of my own making, without being tainted by him or his actions."

Neopolitan nodded her understanding, even though she couldn't imagine the life Weiss must have lead that would lead her at such a young age to relentless fight for the opportunity to attend Beacon, despite not having gone through the traditional path of combat schools.

"You?"

Neopolitan laughed at the girl's question. "Well, you basically implied that you'd kill me if I didn't, so… Here I am!"

Weiss took a step into her and bumped her off her path. "Seriously, you _dolt_! Why?"

Neopolitan looked around the cityscape for a long time as she thought about her response. She saw the nearly set sun's rays cast beautiful reds and pinks and yellows across the sky. The canal reflected the lights of the city. Weiss's icy blue eyes twinkled in the encroaching twilight. The girl's hand felt warm and perfect in her own.

With a genuinely happy smile, Neopolitan realized that she had friends now. A family, of sorts. A kind of weird and dysfunctional sort, but it was great. It's what she always envisioned having a family would be after all these years of loneliness, buried in crime in her pursuit for revenge.

"You." Neopolitan pulled Weiss closer to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "You're why I'm going to become a Huntress. You've shown me that taking a chance on someone, showing them a bit of mercy, and a core belief in doing what's right can open so many doors in a person's life. It can save them from almost anything." She paused to kiss Weiss's temple and stroke her neck and shoulder, and continued after a moment, "You gave me a team; the family I didn't have after Cinder took mine. You showed me kindness and love. You and Ruby had this innate belief that I, of all people, wasn't beyond hope and you welcomed me into your lives."

"I have a lot I need to make up for. Even though it was _cover_ as a criminal, I actually did those things. Some of them were horrible and made me wonder if I was really a good person anymore… I can only hope that something I do from here on out with my life can offset some of those things. But for now, I'm just going to take up the mantra of 'pay it forward' and hope that, someday, I can prove to you and Ruby, and everyone else, that I deserved the generous chance you gave to me."

Weiss nodded somberly and slipped her hand around Neopolitan's waist. "I'm going to hold you to that, Neopolitan."

"I would expect nothing less from a Huntress." Neopolitan paused and smiled as she bumped her shoulder into Weiss' "… In training."

The two continued on and held each other close. Remnant was a huge world, and it waited for them. A world, unfortunately, filled with people like Cinder and Torchwick. A world with immense darkness. A world filled with the creatures of Grimm that fed on the sorrow and suffering that people caused one another. A world that was unjust and unfair. A world of suffering and grief. A world where some would hate them.

But tonight, neither Weiss nor Neopolitan thought about the darkness and evil in their world. Rather, they thought about the joy and happiness possible from their new relationship. A small light to stand against the darkness. And it gave them hope. The hope that all Huntsmen and Huntresses needed to believe that they could triumph in their war against the darkness.


	36. Final AN

Well... This is the end of Neo's Time. I had a great time writing it for NaNoWriMo back in 2015 and a pretty okay time editing it these past three months. I'll admit, the editing was a much more challenging undertaking than I anticipated. Originally, I thought my first draft was pretty solid, but then I really read it and started breaking it down by chapter and individual sentences... It needed some work! Some of the chapters took 3+ hours of work to edit, others were a bit simpler. In the end, I know I'll read this again somewhere down the line and wish I had done something (or a fair number of things) differently. I hope to finish writing my original novel from NaNoWriMo 2016 in the coming months then return to fan fiction before circling back and editing that NaNo piece. Currently, I have about 11,000 words written in a Velvet-centric fan fiction that I began early last year ~ I'd like to finish that and start editing and posting it within the next few months. So, if you're interested in seeing an interpretation of Velvet, follow me as an author on here so you get a notification when I finally get around to posting that! Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to offer like, favorite, review, or email me your comments ~ between here and Archive of Our Own, I honestly thought this story would garner maybe 20 views total. But, there have been so many more of you that were willing to give this a shot. Thank you for dealing with my sometimes poor updating schedule and whatever liberties I took with the source material in the pursuit of telling a story of two young women, both broken in many ways by the circumstances of their upbringing, coming together and finding redemption and hope. Finally, thank you again! I honestly hope you found this little story to be worth your time and that it provided some entertainment over these past three months or so. Best,  
~shdwmchn 


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